Rhythm Thief and The Seven Deadly Pendants
by RiceCakesWithStyle
Summary: Raphael is back and this time he's back with style! But when he uncovers a secret door with the same mark of his coin on it Raphael and his new friend, Cleo, must travel around Europe to find seven pendants that represent The Seven Deadly Sins to open it. With Marie's life on the line and Vergier hot on his tail Raphael has never been busier!
1. Chapter 1: A Fresh Start

**Okay so in truth this is my first time writing a fanfic. If the fanfic seems a bit sloppy then I apologize. I have tried my hardest to write a good fanfic for all fans to enjoy, so I hope all this effort has not gone in vain. With that said, please enjoy.**

Paris was busy as ever. Cars coming down the street and honking to get pedestrians or other cars out the way, tourists gazing upon the twinkling beauty of The Eiffel Tower and the newspapers being sold out because of today's exclusive headline. A man dressed quite snappily was reading that very newspaper, he had his fedora sitting next him on a bench. It was a windy night in Paris. The clouds were covering the night sky and were so dark they looked like they were taunting the tourists about how it may start to rain. Slowly, with a smile, the man read quietly to himself the headline. "Phantom R: Where has he gone?" The dog sitting on the floor beside him lifted his head up and looked at the newspaper. "After being seen at The Paris Constabulary, The Paris Opera and even The Palace of Versailles it seems the mysterious phantom thief has disappeared into thin air. Phantom R, the famous art thief, has not been seen around Paris ever since the fall of The Hanging Gardens and a fake Napoleon." The man swallowed. It seemed something was on his mind, nevertheless he kept reading. "We asked head of the police force, Inspector Vergier, about his thoughts on Phantom R's mysterious disappearance. 'I'm sure the boy is just planning his next move,' The inspector replied, 'He's a sly fox. For all we know he could be watching us from a distance and laughing as he goes.' The inspector seems more keen on catching Phantom R, reasons why are currently unknown. All we can ask ourselves is this, has Phantom R put away his grabbing hands? Or is he just planning his next steal right under our noses?" The man chuckled to himself as he rolled up the newspaper and put it down. "One thing's for sure inspector, I've not given up stealing just yet…" He picked up his fedora and put it on his head. The dog beside him stood up and barked at the man excitedly. "I know Fondue," He said to the dog, "We'll get to The Louvre right now. If Inspector Vergier thinks I've given up stealing he can think again!"

To him, this heist was all a game. A game that he won every time, no matter how hard the constables tried they could never catch him. The phantom thief chuckled to himself thinking of the many failed capture attempts that The Paris Constabulary tried to pull off. He walked casually towards The Louvre. Of course he didn't have to hurry, everyone thought he had completely vanished. Fondue panted excitedly all the way there, he too couldn't wait to get back to thieving and evading the cops. Phantom R couldn't help but smile at the little dog, he hummed a tune as he went along. Suddenly, while walking through The Place de la concorde, he spotted a young girl dressed in blue being thrown out of a car. She looked at least 14, she certainly wasn't Phantom R's age. She shouted something at the car as it drove off. She picked herself off the ground and then looked at Phantom R. The girl had tears in her eyes but brushed them away angrily and walked away from the scene. Phantom R was baffled by this. "I wonder what that was all about.." He said quietly. Fondue whined and followed the girl round the corner. "Hey Fondue!" Phantom R kept shouting at Fondue but he had already gone round the corner, he had no choice but to chase after the dog. He sprinted after the two and soon found the girl sitting down and sobbing while Fondue was trying to comfort her. Phantom R stared at her for a minute before crouching down to her height and slowly taking her hands. "Hey, are you okay?" He asked softly. The girl stopped crying and looked at him. She let him take her hands slowly away from her face. "You kinda….got thrown out of a car." The young girl was wearing a blue fedora like him but in the middle was light blue instead of red. She was wearing a long sleeved denim jacket with a dolphin t-shirt and a small sapphire pendant around her neck. Below she was wearing olive combat trousers and blue trainers. Her milk chocolate brown hair was in a side ponytail and was tossed onto her left shoulder. She looked at him with her pale blue eyes for a second before screwing up her face and hugging him tightly. Phantom R was surprised at first since no one had hugged him in this way before but, feeling that he should cheer her up, he hugged her back. "That's it….just let it all out" His shoulder was getting damp from the tears but he didn't mind. She snuffled onto his shoulder leaving a pale green sticky substance on it which made him feel a bit queasy, but he kept hugging her because he understood how she felt. He too was left behind years ago, he didn't really like being reminded of it. After she stopped crying and wiped away her tears she noticed the substance on his shoulder and got a tissue to wipe away. "Umm...you might not like talking about it at this time but..", He said as she wiped his shoulder, "Why were you thrown out that car?" The girl finished wiping his shoulder and looked sadly at him. "...Don't want to talk about it huh? It's okay." He smiled at her. The girl couldn't help but feel safe around this man. Phantom R had one of those smiles, it was a smile that assured you that you were safe and sound. It was a smile that instantly won your trust. She reached her hands up to his face, she had navy blue fingerless gloves on. Her hands went to his hair, she grabbed a part of it but didn't pull it out and looked at it. Phantom R laughed. "Yes, that's my real hair colour. It's pretty unique don't you think?" The girl nodded timidly. Phantom R was quite happy that this girl had stopped crying. He then remembered, The Louvre! He stood up suddenly which caused a string of his hair to get pulled out. "Sorry, but I've got to get somewhere right now! It was nice to meet you!" He ran off towards Tuileries Gardens with Fondue following behind. The girl stood up and waved at him with that string of his hair still in her hand. "What a cute girl, I hope I can see her again" Phantom R said to himself. He made his way to the back of The Louvre where a secret entrance was. He smiled. "You remember this don't you Fondue?" He went up to a coloured round pad and pressed some buttons. "Move from low to high to reveal a secret path.." He said to himself. And just as he said it a hatch opened and revealed a secret door. "See what I told you Fondue! I still remember it clear as day!" Fondue barked something at him. "Seriously Fondue? Comparing my intelligence to that girl back there? She's younger than me Fondue. Sure she may have figured out this code but she hasn't got the knowledge of an 18 year old." Fondue blinked at him. "Anyway we should get inside, we can't just stand here all night." They both stepped inside. Inside The Louvre was dark but not too dark that no one could see. There was some light from the moon shining down and lighting up the floor with it's pristine white glow. "Do you hear that Fondue?" He whispered. Fondue was very confused. There was no sound to be heard. "Silence. No distractions, no talking, no nothing. Just silence." He enjoyed this silence for a while, it had been a long time since he had been in The Louvre at night. Suddenly Fondue barked viciously. "Huh? Hey what's wrong Fondue?" He looked at what Fondue was barking at and saw something moving with a red dot on the end of it. "Security camera…" Phantom R said. "They must have kept these in just in case I came back here." Fondue growled at it. "I guess there's no point in taking it out now," Phantom R sighed, "They already know I'm here. So we'd better grab that painting and get out of here." Fondue barked in agreement and they both ran. Phantom R found the painting and put it under his arm. It wasn't a big painting and could easily be carried around by someone of his strength and age. "Okay we got what we need and hey, this painting is lighter than it looks!" Fondue barked and barked. "I know! I know! Trust me, we won't get caught. Now let's go" They both ran until they got to the entrance to The Louvre, with the painting tucked under his arm he ran outside. Phantom R was getting pretty cocky at this point. The constables had not come yet, the artwork was not a pain to carry and it didn't cause him to get sores on his hands either. It was all going good…..until they came. All of a sudden, a spotlight shined on him and then another and then another until he was completely drenched in bright light. He covered his face with his right hand while holding the painting under his arm. Constables were surrounding him left and right, it was as if all of France had teamed up against him. "Nice try Phantom R" A familiar voice said. Phantom R lowered his hand down after getting used to the light a little bit and saw Inspector Vergier walking towards him from the crowd of constables. "We meet again Inspector." Phantom R said with a smirk. Inspector Vergier got his gun out and pointed it at him. "You think you can escape with that painting? Not on my watch." The newspaper was right about Vergier becoming more determined to capture Phantom R, he would even point a gun at him just so he could be behind bars. "Now hand over the painting and I won't shoot" Phantom R didn't budge. Vergier put his finger on the trigger. "I said hand it over Phantom R" The phantom thief shook his head. Vergier was growing impatient. "You think this is some sort of game? Hand it over!" Phantom R put his right hand in pocket. Vergier kept his gun aimed at him. "I gave you a chance Phantom R and you throw it back in my face" He fired. Phantom R didn't know what to do, he couldn't dodge this bullet without getting the painting damaged! Just when he thought it was all over something jumped in his way. The sound of the bullet hitting metal echoed through the air as the silence fell among everyone. Phantom R stared at the shadow in front of him. Who or what saved him? The shadow turned around, it was the girl in blue who had gotten thrown out of that car. But this time, she had golden knucklebusters on her hands. Phantom R blinked. "..Y-You.." All the constables were astonished, Vergier looked at them. "Well? What are you waiting for?! Vite vite!" A group of constables ran towards the girl. She turned around and ran towards them. She punched three of the constables in the face and roundhouse kicked the other. She jumped up into the air and kicked a constable in the face. She rolled across the ground and stood back up, facing the other constables. Phantom R suddenly got tackled by Eric and Lois. He tripped Lois up and kicked him away. He tried to hit Eric but Lois was already back up on his feet and pulled both Phantom R's arms behind his back. "Inspector! We've got him!" Eric shouted. After smashing a constable's head against a wall two times the girl turned to see Phantom R about to be captured. She raced over there and punched Lois so hard that he went flying. Eric tried to take her on with an array of punches but she blocked them with no problem and kicked him in the nuts. Eric knelt down and lied on the ground, wincing in pain. She held out her hand for Phantom R and he gladly took it. "There's too many constables to fight off" He said. Phantom R smiled and put his arm around the girl's shoulder. "I'd really love to stay Inspector but I've got a ride to catch" With this he took out a smoke bomb and threw it on the ground which caused a huge amount of smoke to pile out and create a huge cloud. Vergier and the constables wafted the smoke away only to find that the phantom thief and his accomplice had vanished. Vergier's hands shook with anger. His veins could be seen clearly on his face. "CURSE YOU PHANTOM R!" He shouted to the skies. Phantom R ran across the roofs with the girl in his arms. He jumped down into a quiet street and put the girl down. "There you go," He smiled, "We should be a fair distance from Vergier. I gotta tell ya, his parties are the best." The girl took a box out of her pocket and opened it. Phantom R managed to look inside it to find white thin sticks inside the box. "You smoke?!" He exclaimed. The girl looked at him. "No" She said harshly. She pulled out one of the sticks and put it in her mouth. She broke it off and crunched on it. "It's a candy stick." This was the first time Phantom R had heard the girl speak. There was no mistaking that she had an English accent and a pretty deep one too, deeper than he had heard on any girl. It reminded him of Marie. He smiled sadly and looked down just thinking about her. "You want one?" She held out the box to him. "O-Oh sure." He took a candy stick and bit the top off it. They both munched on their sticks in silence. "...So, why did you save me from that bullet?" The girl shoved her whole candy stick into her mouth. "I figured you needed my thanks for comforting me." She said while crunching the stick. Phantom R shrugged with a smile. "I was just being friendly." He looked down at the girl's hands and frowned. "Where did you get those knucklebusters from?" The girl looked down at her hands. "I stole them from a weapons shop" Phantom R was shocked at this. "You stole them?! But why?!" The girl swallowed and shifted about. "I really needed them, there were a lot of people on my case at the time and I just really needed them"

"But you should have bought them not stole them!"

"Oh what? And you're theft from The Louvre doesn't count?"

"I'm stealing this for a reason!"

"And what is that reason?"

"...I...can't tell you.."

"Why not?!"

"It's a secret"

"Seriously?! It's just….ugh!"

The girl folded her arms and groaned. Phantom R was surprised at how looks could deceive someone. He thought that this girl was cute and sweet but now he saw that she was tough and bad tempered. He wanted to change the subject of the conversation, for the better. "...What's your name?" He asked. The girl looked at him. It looked like he had just slapped her in the face. "...Cleo," The girl replied, "What's your name, Michael Jackson fan?" Phantom R chuckled. "I'm Phantom R and this this my trusty sidekick Fondue." Cleo's eyes widened. "Y-You mean, you're THE Phantom R?! The famous art thief?!"

"Yep. That's me." He laughed. He found Cleo's reaction to be hilarious, it's not everyday that you bump into a famous art thief.

Cleo stared at him for a moment before taking his hand and shaking it. "It's a pleasure to meet you sir!" Phantom R didn't expect this. With Marie she laughed it off, which was pretty usual but sweet at the same time. Cleo just shook his hand as if she was his number one fan or something.

"I-I guess you've heard of me then" He laughed awkwardly. "Oh yes! I've been so astonished at how you break the law without batting an eye!" Phantom R realized she was right. He did break the law without batting an eye. To her he looked cool and walked with swagger. He shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a natural." Cleo nodded. Phantom R noticed it was starting to get late and that the cops would be on his tail by now. "I gotta go, I'll see you tomorrow okay?" He had turned to go. "Wait!" Cleo cried. Phantom R spun around with a puzzled look on his face. "I..ummm..I don't have anywhere to go.." Cleo put one hand on her hip. Phantom R blinked at her. "What?"

"I don't live anywhere here...I'm kinda homeless at the moment."

"Homeless?"

"Yeah. My parents were in that car and they threw me out and...yeah…"

"..I see.." Phantom R stretched out his hand to her. "You can come and stay at my apartment then"

Cleo looked at the hand in shock. "R-Really? You don't mind?" Phantom R giggled. "Of course not! This is my thanks for saving me!" Cleo pondered for a moment before taking his hand. "Okay then I'll come, Phantom R."

"Great! It's a little run down but you wont mind right?"

"I won't," She grinned at him, "So where is it?"

"Just follow me." Phantom R lead her off into the brightly lit streets of Paris, leaving no trace of themselves.

**I hope you like the new character I added! She does come across a bit rude at times but she'll get better as it goes on I promise! If you would like more of this please let me know! Did you enjoy this first chapter? Let me know! I love feedback!**


	2. Chapter 2: The door

**I made some spelling mistakes in the first chapter sorry! I'm a new fanfic writer so I'll probably make some minor mistakes. But enough of that, I shall continue.**

The walk was not as long as Cleo thought it would be. Her and Phantom R passed under hundreds of glowing Parisian street lamps, it made her cuddle up with him as they walked. Phantom R's cheeks were red as fire by the time they got to the apartment. He shook his head.

"Well, here we are." He stood in front of a glowing apartment building.

Cleo looked at it. "It looks quite nice for an apartment block"

He shrugged. "So do you want to go in?"

"Alright don't rush me." Cleo took a step in, then faced Phantom R. "Oh by the way, you might want to keep that stolen painting more hidden" She pointed towards constables milling around in the distance. Phantom R gulped loudly and quickly went inside. Cleo snickered and followed him.

Soon enough they were both inside the apartment. Phantom R put down the painting and fell upon his bed. He held his head softly and breathed out through his nose. His fedora slowly came off his head and gently fell onto his pillow that he was laying his head on.

Cleo went over to him and sat on the bed. "Tough night huh?"

Phantom R looked at her and smiled sleepily. "It would have been more than that if you weren't there"

Cleo combed through his hair. Silky smooth. It felt like she was running her fingers through melted chocolate, red melted chocolate. This made Phantom R blush all the more and giggle a little bit.

Phantom R fully opened his eyes. "There's something I need to do" He got up.

Cleo followed him with her eyes. "What? What is it?"

"Just hold on a minute.." Phantom R took off his jacket, tie, fedora, he stopped and looked at Cleo. "You might not want to look"

Cleo understood what he meant and put her face into the pillow. She waited, thoughts swirling around her head. What was he doing? It could be nothing but then again….

Some footsteps were heard behind her followed by a chuckle. "Hey it's okay" Something took her chin and gently lifted her head up from the pillow. Cleo looked up and saw a puzzling sight.

The guy had red hair so she was sure it was him but he now had glasses on and was wearing a sweater.

"This is the real me, my real name is Raphael" The boy with the glasses said.

Cleo blinked at him. "You look so different from your Phantom R self"

Raphael giggled and said nothing.

"So you can only see a short range or what?"

Raphael knew what she was talking about. He took off his glasses, threw them in the air and caught them. The part where the lens should be went through his finger, revealing no lens on the glasses. He whirled them around his finger. "These glasses are fake, I've got perfect vision. I only use these for disguise" He put them back on.

Cleo was surprised. "I guess you do need them so the constables won't find you"

Raphael yawned. "Yeah. That heist has really left me winded."

Cleo yawned as well and stretched. "I think we should get to bed, don't you?"

Raphael pulled the covers on his bed back and gestured to Cleo.

Cleo stared at it. "We're going to sleep in our clothes?"

Raphael shrugged. "You can get changed if you want but I don't feel up for changing into pajamas tonight"

Cleo took off her shoes, fedora and necklace. She hopped into the bed. Raphael took off his glasses and shoes and jumped in with her. He pulled the covers over him and Cleo.

They looked at eachother for a while. "Jeez it's hot in here.." Raphael took off his sweater and his shirt. Cleo gazed upon the muscle he had built up. It was almost a six pack. Raphael looked at Cleo. "Is there something on my chest?" Cleo shook her head frantically. She blushed and looked away.

She felt something tug on her jacket. "Are you sure you don't want to take this off? It's really hot in here" Raphael was trying to take off her jacket.

Cleo took it off herself and then threw it outside the covers. "I guess it is quite hot in here."

Raphael turned off the light and then got back into bed. They both stayed silent for some time.

"..Raphael?" He opened his eyes and recognized the voice as Cleo's.

"Yeah?" He said sleepily.

"I...I'm scared of the dark.." Cleo started shaking.

Raphael was confused by this. "Really?" He asked. Cleo had come across tough seeing as she had knucklebusters and could punch a constable so hard that it sent them flying through the air. Raphael stayed silent for a minute before hugging her tightly.

Cleo hugged him back. "..Thank you.." She said tiredly.

They embraced each other for a while. Finally Cleo went to sleep and Raphael let her go. It was a bit too awkward for him, seeing as he was shirtless and all. Plus she was 4 years younger than him, if he hugged her out in public people would assume that they were related. Raphael didn't like the thought, but he soon closed his eyes and went to sleep.

The next morning Cleo woke up and saw that Raphael wasn't in the bed.

"He must be up already.." Cleo yawned and rubbed her eyes.

Cleo heard some humming coming from the kitchen. She followed the sound and saw Raphael, fully dressed and dancing round the kitchen while doing normal household chores.

Cleo stared at him before giggling quietly. "What is he doing?!" She whispered to herself.

Raphael put the kettle on, jumped onto the kitchen table and backflipped off it. Phantom of the Opera was playing on the radio as he was putting his clothes into the washing machine. "~In sleep he sang to me, in dreams he came. That voice which calls to me and speaks my name~" He closed the washing machine door and then did a ballerina twirl. "~And do I dream again? For now I find, The Phantom of the Opera is there. Inside my mind~"

Cleo was amazed at Raphael's singing voice. She never knew the phantom of Paris could sing.

The radio suddenly switched to a new station. Raphael stopped and went over to it. "Oh are you kidding me?" He banged it with his fist a couple of times until it played a song he knew. "Oh I love this song!" Raphael spun towards the kettle and poured the hot water into a mug. "~We've come too far to give up who we are. So let's raise the bar and our cups to the stars!~"

He put coffee beans into the mug and started stirring it.

"~She's up all night till the sun, I'm up all night to get some. She's up all night for good fun, I'm up all night to get lucky~" He put the mug down and jumped back onto the kitchen table. He tapped his foot as if he was waiting for something. "Just wait for the Daft Punk part to kick in.." Once it did Raphael started to breakdance on the table. He did flips, headspins, the works. Fondue danced with him and jumped around on the table. Raphael had worked up a sweat after that. He leaned against the kitchen counter and picked up his mug of coffee.

"Man, life is good." He took a sip.

Cleo couldn't hold it in anymore. She burst out laughing.

Raphael spat out his coffee and coughed. "C-Cleo?!"

Cleo fell on the floor and rolled around laughing. "Hahahaha! Oh my…..g-HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Raphael knelt by her side. "Easy now, you won't be able to breathe."

Cleo was crying with laughter now. Tears came out from her eyes.

Raphael held Cleo's two shoulders which made her stop. "Take it easy, I can't have you dying on me."

Once Cleo had calmed down Raphael made her a coffee and they both sat down and drank it.

"This is good coffee." Cleo took another sip.

"You'd better make it last, we have a big day ahead of us." Raphael replied.

Cleo looked at him. "What do you mean?" She sipped her coffee.

Raphael put his mug down on the table. "A friend, well….frenemy, told me that she found something while she was in Les Invalides."

"You mean the war museum where that casket was stolen?"

Raphael nodded. "It's a code or something like that. She can't crack it but she thinks I can."

Cleo finished her coffee and put the mug in the sink. "So when are we setting off?"

"Now."

"What?"

"We're setting off now. Are you ready?"

"Not really. I have to get my shoes and everything."

"Okay. I have to change too so don't worry about me waiting."

Once Cleo had polished up her knucklebusters and Raphael had changed into Phantom R they both set off towards Les Invalides. It was amazing how different Paris looked at day. In the night it was a glowing city with mystery around every corner, you felt like you were in a different world with everything lit up and The Eiffel Tower glittering. But at day it looked like a classic city riddled with old buildings and walkways. It felt like you were walking through history. Cleo had never been to Paris before, she had spent most of her time on the English coast. So obviously she was bewildered by all this.

"I'm guessing you've never been to Paris before." Phantom R smiled at Cleo.

Cleo shook her head. "No I haven't. Where I come from is not as old as Paris."

After a while they soon got to the war museum. There it was in it's glory, the garden in front of it only continued to make it look smart and pretty. The french flag was gracefully waving through the air, France was indeed a wonderful country. Phantom R was walking up to the museum, suddenly he stopped. Two constables were talking to his frenemy. Phantom R and Cleo crouched down and hid. After the constables went away Phantom R came out and strode confidently towards his frenemy. Cleo followed behind him. The blonde that was leaning against the museum walls suddenly had her eyes drawn onto Phantom R. She sighed and stood up straight.

"Long time no see, Charlie" Phantom R smirked.

"Same for you mate. Where have you been?" He looked at Cleo. "And who's this? An accomplice of yours?"

Phantom R stood out of the way of Cleo. "Cleo this is Charlotte, my frenemy."

Cleo raised an eyebrow. "Charlotte?"

"Yeah...she prefers to be called Charlie."

Charlie narrowed her eyes. "I only dress up like this for investigation purposes." She was referring to how she was dressed now. Her brown trenchcoat and her brown flat cap to match certainly seemed like something a detective would wear.

"Anyway, Charlie. Could you please show us this code you mentioned?" Phantom R asked.

Charlie beckoned them inside and once they were in she shut the door. She lead them over to a small door that was sealed by 7 locks. Charlie folded her arms and let Phantom R look at it.

"Is this it Charlie?" Phantom R touched one of the locks.

"Yep. This is exactly as I found it," Charlie lifted her cap a little bit, "Any ideas on what it is?"

Phantom R stood up and sighed. "Nope, I have no clue."

"Let me have a look at it." Cleo knelt down and looked closely at the locks. The locks said in order: 'Mammon, Belphagor, Leviathan, Satan, Beelzebub, Lucifer, Asmodeus' When Cleo touched the locks they changed colour. "...Oh!" She exclaimed.

"You got something?" Phantom R knelt down beside her.

Cleo smiled. "Yep! Mammon, Belphagor, Leviathan, Satan, Beelzebub, Lucifer and Asmodeus. Yellow, Light blue, Green, Orange, Pink, Violet and Red!" She put the colours in as she said this. The small door opened and revealed a ladder leading down underground.

"How did you solve that?!" Phantom R stared at her in shock.

Cleo looked at him. "I researched The Seven Deadly Sins a lot. Those names written on the locks are the names of the seven princes of hell, you just had to put in the colour of their sins."

Phantom R nodded. "Quite a smart door lock to put in if you ask me."

"Ahem, does anyone notice a LADDER in front of us?" Charlie was getting impatient and wanted to climb down the ladder.

Phantom R gestured to Cleo. "Ladies first."

Cleo crawled into the door and started to climb down the ladder.

"You okay there Cleo?" Phantom R shouted.

"Y-Yeah I'm fine." Cleo had vertigo, and the steep hole that the ladder was in wasn't helping her one bit.

Charlie pushed past Phantom R and crawled through the door. "This is very small." She said as she climbed down the ladder.

Phantom R looked around for anyone watching them and then crawled through the door. "Hold on to me Fondue" He picked up Fondue and climbed down the ladder. Fondue winced and barked. "Hey don't be scared Fondue, we've dealt with something like this before haven't we?" Phantom R climbed down using one hand while leaning his back against the wall.

Soon enough Cleo got to the end and jumped down, her body was shaking all over. "I hope we never come down here again!" She said bitterly.

Charlie followed behind her. "We might have to if whatever Phantom R's looking for is here." She jumped down.

Phantom R came last. He jumped down and put Fondue on the ground. "That wasn't so bad was it Fondue?" Fondue winced and shook with fear. "Oh don't be such a baby." Phantom R folded his arms.

"I can't say that I blame him," Cleo smiled, "I have vertigo myself."

Phantom R raised an eyebrow. "You handled it pretty well for someone with vertigo."

Charlie had already gone ahead without them. "Hey! Phantom, Cleo! Come over here!" She called.

They both went over to Charlie's calls and found a large hall with a giant door at the end of it. Phantom R got out his coin and compared it to the door, his eyes widened and he ran up to it.

Cleo ran after him. "What is it?!" She said when she got to the door.

Phantom R got his coin out of his pocket and held it up to her. "This door has the same mark as on my coin." He showed her the symbol.

Cleo looked at the symbol on the coin and then at the one on the door. "It does! But why?"

Phantom R shook his head. "I don't know. But I think this door was placed by the same guys responsible for The Mystere Incident.."

Charlie looked at the door closely. "There seems to be some necklace shaped slots here."

Cleo took a look at them. "What do you think they mean?"

Phantom R noticed something stuffed into the side of the door. "Huh? What's this?" He pulled it out. It was a scrap of paper. It had something written on it, he started to read it.

Cleo peered at the paper scrap. The writing on it was scrawled but she was still able to read it.

'_If you have found this note, well done!_

_But your adventure has only began._

_Go around Europe to find,_

_Seven pendants that bring grief upon thine._

_Where you should start is the land of myth,_

_you'll find the first necklace with a hop and a skip._

_Find the land with 12 gods and goddesses upon it's peak,_

_and there you'll find the pendant you seek_'

Phantom R scratched his head. "What does this mean? It's a riddle alright but what does it mean by 'Seven pendants that bring grief upon thine'?"

Cleo pondered for a moment. "I think it's referring to pendants that recreate The Seven Deadly Sins"

Phantom R looked at the slots on the door. "Okay if that's the pendants then what's this about 12 gods and goddesses upon a mountain?"

"I only know one place in Europe where they have 12 gods and goddesses." Cleo stroked her ponytail. "That would be Greece."

Of course! Why didn't he think of that?! Phantom R blushed with embarrassment, his father had made many greek sculptures and had told him many things about Greek Mythology.

Charlie folded her arms and chuckled. "Looks like this kid is smarter than you Phantom R."

Phantom R glared at her. "S-Shut up.."

Cleo took the note out of Phantom R's hands. "We'd better keep this. It might come in handy." She folded the paper and put it into her pocket.

They went back up the ladder and up to the museum. Phantom R closed the door and sighed. "Well Charlie, thanks for calling me first instead of getting the constables involved."

Charlie blushed a little bit. "N-No problem mate. I was only doing what I thought was right."

Phantom R held Charlie's cheek. "Are you blushing?" He said while smiling.

Charlie angrily whacked his hand away. "Do you want me to arrest you?!"

"Alright alright I get it." Phantom R took a step back from Charlie.

"Well it was nice meeting you Charlie." Cleo said.

"You too." Charlie replied. "Now if you'll excuse me I've got a football tournament to get to." Charlie straightened her coat and then walked out of the museum. Cleo and Phantom R both went out too, there was nothing else to do.

"So…..our first destination is Greece. Now where to get tickets and passports?" Cleo pondered.

Phantom R obviously had an idea of where to get such things. "I've got an idea."

Cleo looked up at him. "You have?"

Phantom R put one hand on his hip. "I've got a friend that lives in FDR Avenue. He's got real brains I can tell ya that. He might have an idea of where we can get cheap tickets."

"Is he around there now?"

"Should be. He's always up early doing his homework and studying."

"We should go there now!"

"With me dressed like this?"

"Oh right sorry…."

"I'll change and then we'll go visit him okay?"

"Sounds like an idea!"

They both began to walk off when suddenly a voice that Phantom R knew called his name from behind.

"Phantom R!"

He stopped. Confused and surprised. Was that who he thought it was? He turned around and his eyes widened.

"A-Alfred?!"

There, panting with exhaustion, was the old bodyguard butler Alfred. He looked the same as he did all those months ago when him and Phantom R had a one on one fight. Alfred collapsed on the floor.

"Are you okay?!" Phantom R knelt down at his side.

Cleo was unsure what to do. She didn't know this man. "Phantom R, who is this?"

"This is Alfred. He's my old friend's butler." Phantom R took his hand. "Alfred, what's wrong? Why did you exhaust yourself to see me?"

Alfred couldn't get the words out his mouth properly. "T….he….prin….c...ess…...i..s…...s….si..ck.."

"The princess?" The realization suddenly dawned on Phantom R and it made his heart stop. "Marie?! What's wrong with Marie?!"

Phantom R helped Alfred up. "P-Please…..just follow me…" Alfred led them towards Elizabeth's Manse.

Cleo was awfully confused. Who was Marie? Where was this man taking them? Who was this princess they were talking about? Everything seemed like a confusing mess.

They arrived inside the manse and were standing outside a door. Alfred gently knocked on the door, he opened it and popped his head through it. "He's here mademoiselle" Alfred ushered them in and closed the door behind him.

Phantom R stared in shock at the girl in the bed, she smiled and said softly. "...Hello Raphael…"

**End Of Chapter 2**


	3. Chapter 3: The snake princess

**I've got one follow, favourite and review! Yay! ****＼（＾▽＾）／** **Sorry about that….I'm quite new here and I have yet to get used to publishing and waiting to see what everyone thinks of my story (it's so nerve racking!). Anyway, enough of me, let's continue. **

Phantom R blinked for a moment. Was the girl he saw before him real? She had the same sparkling blue eyes, bright blonde hair and pale skin as she did before but there was something tattooed on her eye. It looked like a snake, a black sly evil snake, and it went from her face and wrapped around her neck with it's black scaly body. It went around her left arm and coiled the rest of it's body round some of her fingers. She sadly looked at the snake's body coiled round hers. The Duchess was by her side, examining her fingers. She looked up at Phantom R and strode towards him.

"It's nice to see you again Raphael. Marie has missed you so much." Elizabeth looked down at Cleo. "Oh, is this a friend of yours?"

"Yeah. This is Cleo. She saved me from the constables last night."

Elizabeth laughed. "So this is the mysterious girl that saved the phantom thief. You're all over the news Cleo."

Cleo raised an eyebrow. "I am?"

Elizabeth got out a newspaper and showed it to her. "This is the headline: 'Young girl saves Phantom R from the police. Constabulary is on red alert' You're a dangerous person apparently"

Cleo laughed. This is what she lived for. Beating up people when they needed it, she didn't care if they had a family or not if they needed to be taught a lesson then she would do it.

"..Raphael.." Marie tried to get out of the bed but Elizabeth stopped her.

"Rest my child. You'll only weaken yourself further if you move around." Elizabeth gently pushed her back into the bed.

Phantom R knelt by her side. "Marie?"

Marie smiled. "...Raphael..," She held his hand, "..I've missed you..."

Phantom R couldn't help but tear up a little bit at this. "I've missed you too Marie."

She tried to hug him but felt a sharp pain and laid back down. She breathed in and out shallowly, it looked like she was struggling to breathe.

"What's happened to her?" Phantom R tried to hold back the tears.

"She's got a growing tattoo on her. We suspect it's a curse placed by the fake Napoleon who died in the gardens. It started on her left eye and continued to grow onto her right arm. We thought it stopped but then we spotted another snake tattoo growing on her right foot." Alfred pulled out Marie's right foot to show him. "She's dying. And if the tattoo fully grows it will kill her in process."

Phantom R looked at Marie's foot and then at Marie. This was more than he could take, he ran out the room and closed the door forcefully behind him.

"Raphael!" Cleo ran after him.

Phantom R sat in the corridor and bawled his eyes out. Fondue tried to comfort him.

Cleo sat next to him. "Raphael...are you okay?"

He looked up at her. "Do I look okay?!" He continued to sob.

Cleo put her arm around him. "It'll be okay."

"Will it?! Marie is deathly ill and she never even told me!" He punched the wall and leaned against it crying.

Cleo pulled him gently away from the wall and hugged him. "Please don't cry Raphael." She combed through his hair. Oh, how smooth it was. She would never get over how smooth his hair felt. There was not a single knot in it, and it wasn't hard to comb through either. She was surprised at his abnormal hair colour at first but it seemed she had now gotten used to it and thought it looked pretty cool. Phantom R sobbed gently while hugging her back.

Elizabeth came out and saw the scene, she smiled at Cleo. "You're a good friend to him. One night together and you already seem like good buddies."

Phantom R looked at Elizabeth and sniffed. "I-It's no big deal. I just can't...hold back my tears sometimes, especially when looking at Marie in such a sufferable state."

"I care about her as much as you do Raphael. But we must keep ourselves together in order to get through." Elizabeth helped Phantom R onto his feet.

Phantom R brushed his jacket. "You're right. I shouldn't be sitting down and crying when Marie needs my help." He took Cleo's hand. "Let's go back in. I don't want to worry her."

The three of them walked back into the room. Marie smiled happily. "You came back! I never thought you w-" She gave a loud cough.

"Marie are you okay?!" Phantom R said worriedly. Marie wouldn't stop coughing.

"Mademoiselle! Are you alright?!" Alfred came down to her side. Marie became very pale, she was white as a ghost.

"Alfred! What's happening to her?!" Elizabeth shouted.

"I do not know your grace!" Alfred held Marie's hand. Marie was still coughing after five minutes. Suddenly she breathed in loudly and then fainted. Her skin was so white you'd think she was dead.

"Marie!" Phantom R shook Marie in an attempt to wake her up.

"Your grace look!" Alfred showed everyone Marie's right foot. The snake tattoo had now grown and was coiling round her right leg, the head of it had red eyes and was taunting them by sticking out it's tongue.

"There's no doubt now, this is definitely a curse. We need to get rid of it before it kills her." Alfred put Marie's foot back under the covers. "We should leave the young lady to rest."

Elizabeth sat back in the chair beside the bed. "I shall stay with her. If she wakes up suddenly she won't like being alone."

Alfred nodded and escorted Cleo and Phantom R back outside the manse. Phantom R sighed heavily. His old friend and, admittingly, secret crush was suffering with a grave illness. Why did he have to see her like this after many months of them parting ways? It didn't make much sense to him, reunions should be happy not a big slap in the face.

"Phantom R, you must find a cure. If you don't, Marie will lose her life. You understand that don't you?" Alfred folded his arms behind his back.

Phantom R hid his face with his fedora. "Yes. I do understand. We've got to find one quickly if we want her to live."

Cleo shuffled around. "...Where is this...cure?"

Alfred stared upon Cleo. "We don't know yet. We're still looking for it."

Phantom R was starting to cry again. A tear rolled down his cheek and landed on the floor. It was a glistening tear, a tear full of sadness and grief.

Cleo comforted him. "It's okay Raphael, we'll find the cure."

Phantom R rubbed his eyes. "...I'm fine...it's nothing.." He said bitterly.

"You must have the cure by 3 months otherwise Marie's light will go out. I wish you the best of luck Phantom R." He bowed and went back inside.

Cleo and Phantom R were left standing there. Sad, confused, anxious, deep in thought. How could they find the cure and The Seven pendants at the same time?

"How are we going to pull this off? We can't find the pendants and the cure all at once can we?" Cleo looked at Phantom R anxiously.

"I suggest we leave the pendants for now. Marie's life matters more than a bunch of necklaces." Phantom R lifted the fedora from his face. It was clear that he had been crying, his eyes were bright red.

Cleo tried to cuddle up to him to make him feel better but he nudged her away angrily.

"...Shall we head back to the apartment?" Cleo asked.

Phantom R said nothing but after a while he sighed. "I guess we should. There's nothing else to do here."

They both walked back to the apartment together. None of them said anything to each other. Cleo was surprised at how bitter Raphael could be. When she first saw him she thought he had no worries and was a calm collected person but now she saw that he did have problems, and they were pretty big ones too. Was Marie that important to him? They definitely had a past with each other, seeing as Raphael treated Marie like family. Cleo decided to shrug it off and keep moving. Phantom R had cheered up a little bit now, he was pointing out all the crepe shops to Cleo and even gave a little bit of history to her. She paid attention to it, as long as Raphael was happy she didn't mind if he was lecturing her.

Phantom R swallowed. "So I ask again, why did you get thrown out of that car?"

Cleo looked down. "M-My parents didn't like me.."

Phantom R stopped and stared at her. "What?"

Cleo nodded.

"Your parents...didn't like you..?"

"Yeah. They threw me out because they had enough of me, they wanted me to get rid of my knucklebusters and I refused. We argued for hours until we got to The Place de la Concorde and then they just...threw me out. I called them scum but they paid no attention to it. Though, as the car was driving off, I could see my mother...crying.."

Phantom R thought about this for a moment. She said that her parents wanted her to get rid of her knucklebusters which was reasonable, but her mother was crying as they left her? That seemed a bit off to him, she might have not liked throwing her out of the car but if she was shouting at Cleo with her husband then there was definitely something weird about her crying afterwards instead of glaring at her. Phantom R folded his arms. "It seems a bit weird to me that your mother would be crying instead of staring at you angrily."

Cleo scoffed. "She's just a big softie. Seriously, after she's had to put a wounded animal out of it's misery or watched a stupid sad film she goes all soft and starts crying. It's only natural that she cries after throwing me out of the car."

"Was she shouting at you with your father?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"That's what I'm trying to point out to you. If she was shouting at you, why would she cry afterwards instead of glaring at you?"

Cleo pondered. "That's…..a pretty good point."

Phantom R was glad she now knew what he meant. Solving it though….would take some doing.

"Let's get back to the apartment. We can't ponder out here in the open." Phantom R held out his hand for Cleo. She took it and they both walked back to the apartment together.

Once they got in and had settled down Phantom R sat down and put his hand on his chin. "So about this cure. It's gotta be somewhere around here right?"

Cleo got a glass of water, she sat down and drank it. "There's a slim chance."

Phantom R took off his fedora and put it on his bed. "Well we have to find it quickly, otherwise Marie will die."

Cleo took a sip. 'Die' What a grim word. It was an especially grim word to use on a friend. "Where are we gonna start?"

"Emile can't help us on this one, we're going to have to do the research ourselves." Phantom R twiddled his thumbs. "Hmmm, maybe The Paris Archives has something?"

"The Paris Archives?" Cleo put her glass down on the floor.

"Yeah, it's a big library that's filled to the brim with books. I went there a couple of times to help form The Dragon crown."

"You mean that one in the news? You put that together?"

Phantom R nodded.

"Wow. I have to say, good craftsmanship."

"Heh heh thanks."

"Though I wonder, how are your hands so smooth?"

He looked down at them. "I….don't know.."

Fondue growled and barked at Cleo.

"Hey Fondue! What are you doing that for?!" Fondue whined and buried his head.

Cleo was getting a bit unsettled by Fondue being protective of Raphael. She decided to change the conversation. "H-Hey. Why don't we head to The Paris Archives now?"

"..Y-Yeah...I think we should. Right Fondue?" Phantom R looked at Fondue angrily. Fondue whined but stood up anyway.

Phantom R opened the door and checked to see if there were any constables around. Even though they had laid off him for the rest of the day Vergier had apparently ordered them to patrol at night and capture Phantom R and his new accomplice on sight. He couldn't help but laugh at how hard Vergier's iron fist had become. "He works too hard." Phantom R said to himself.

Paris was beautiful at night as usual. There was not one dark space to be seen, everything was illuminated with warm lights. Cleo linked arms with Phantom R as they went. Soon enough they got to The Paris Archives which was strangely a lot darker than any other place in Paris, the building inside was lit up and everything but the outside was an underwater dark. When they came inside, books were seen everywhere. On the walls, on tables, in people's hands. It was books, books, books everywhere.

"I never knew this place had so many books." Cleo stared at it all.

"Well I did it was stuffed to the brim didn't I?" Phantom R laughed.

"Yeah but I didn't think you meant it literally." Cleo blinked and looked around.

Phantom R saw a familiar figure at the desk, The Librarian. He strode up her and she recognized him instantly.

"Ah it's you! Do you still want that book on the treasures and traditions of the royal family?"

Phantom R chuckled. "No thanks. I'm here for a book on rare illnesses and their cures. Do you have a book like that here?"

She paused for a minute. "...Ah yes! We do in fact. But.."

Phantom R groaned. He knew what she was going to say. "Let me guess. It's in the special collection?"

The Librarian giggled. "You read my mind. Yes it is, sorry."

Phantom R sighed and walked away from the desk. He had distracted her with a phone and put her to sleep with a lullaby he recorded before but what was he going to do now? There was no phone or lullaby to record.

"No luck?" Cleo said anxiously.

"Nope. If only there was something to get her out the way.." Phantom R said.

Cleo thought for a minute and then smiled deviously.

"..You got an idea?" Phantom R looked at her anxiously.

Cleo nodded and went up to the desk.

The Librarian titled her glasses and thumbed through a book. Cleo cleared her throat which made The Librarian look up.

"Ah hello there! Welcome to The Paris Archives, may I hel-"

Cleo grabbed The Librarian's head and smiled. "Sorry about this." She dug her fingers into the head…..and then slammed it onto the desk! The force of the slam knocked The Librarian out, she fell onto the floor under the desk. Phantom R stared at Cleo in shock, he had never used violence to get to where he needed to be. Cleo winked at Phantom R and then pulled a scared face.

"Help! This woman has collapsed onto the floor!" She cried. A number of people came running and knelt down to examine the poor woman. Cleo navigated her way through the crowd and beckoned Phantom R quickly. Phantom R came running with her to the door, Cleo tried to disarm the lock.

"What were you thinking?!" He snapped. "You can't just assault people like that!"

"Sometimes you need to take out the weak to get where you need to be." Cleo finally unlocked the door and went inside with him.

"But that's no reason to knock someone out!" Phantom R hissed.

"Look, just forget it happened and let's look for this book. She'll be fine." Cleo started to look through the spines of the books.

"She might have serious brain damage or something after that!"

Cleo looked at him. "If I wanted to seriously hurt her head I would have used more force."

Fondue sniffed around the bookcases. Suddenly he barked twice at a certain book.

"You found it Fondue?" Phantom R came over and pulled the book out. "Hmm. 'Rare Illnesses and their Cures' This must be it!" He opened the book and thumbed through the pages. Cleo came over and looked in the book.

"Any Snake Tattoo illnesses?"

Phantom R shook his head. "I don't see anything about it in the index. The closest I can get is snake syndrome but that's when your body coils up like a snake. Which can cause spinal damage." He closed the book and sighed. "Well this was completely pointless. I guess you didn't have to knock out The Librarian after all."

"Hey, at least I got to smash someone's head in." Cleo cracked her knuckles.

"Please don't do that.." Sweat came down Phantom R's brow.

When they came back out The Librarian was still unconscious but there was an ambulance service there carrying her away on a stretcher. Phantom R glared at Cleo, she stuck her tongue back out at him. They went outside and watched the ambulance drive off.

"Marie would never do something like this. She doesn't have the strength." Phantom R recalled.

"Eh. I'm just a tougher person compared to her." Cleo shrugged.

"You're pretty tough for a little girl."

Cleo put both her hands on her hips. "I'm not a little girl! I'm 14!"

Phantom R laughed. "Yeah? Well I'm 18. I'm practically the adult here. I should be the one who's beating the baddies, not you."

Cleo crossed her arms and growled.

"You think a little growl is gonna scare me? You're talking to the wrong guy." Phantom R laughed again.

"You're lucky you're my friend. If you were anyone else, I would have beat you to a pulp." Cleo was right. Phantom R had seen what she had done to those constables and to the librarian, he certainly did not want to end up like that.

He tried to calm her down. "Hey, do you want to get some candy on the way back?"

Cleo's expression dramatically changed to an excited smile. She glomped him.

"W-Woah!" Phantom R exclaimed.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! YES!" She shouted.

Phantom R blushed awkwardly "P-Please get off me.." Cleo gladly did what he said.

They went into a late night sweet shop on the way home and got plenty of sweets to last a whole day. Although Cleo munched on a lot of them on the way home there was still some left to share with 3 or 4 people. Once they were back at the apartment Raphael got changed into his pajamas.

"What about me?" Cleo asked as Raphael was buttoning up his pajama shirt.

He pointed at a drawer. "3rd from the bottom is my mom's nighties. They might be a bit big for you but it's the best I can do."

Big was an understatement. Cleo's hands couldn't even reach the outside of the sleeve and the bottom part of the nightie was too long. Raphael got out a pair of scissors and trimmed the nightie until it was a perfect size for Cleo. "Sorry Mom.." He whispered as he snipped the fabric.

Cleo was the first to jump into the bed, she yawned. "You not tired yet Raphael?"

He shook his head. "I have too much to think about to go to sleep just yet."

Cleo understood what he meant. "Okay then, Night Raphael." She turned over the covers and went to sleep.

Fondue sat next to Raphael on the floor. He nudged Raphael gently. "Don't worry boy, I'm okay." He stroked the little dog. "It's just….Marie.." He looked at the ground sadly. "Why did this have to happen to her? She was probably living such a wonderful life until that snake tattoo started growing on her."

Fondue whined.

"I know Fondue. I don't want her to die either." He looked at his map of Paris. "I'm guessing the cure is no where here in Paris if they don't have it in that book. It could be somewhere else in Europe." Suddenly Raphael had an idea. He took the note with the poem scrawled on it off the bedside table. "Yes! Yes! That's it!"

Fondue cocked his head at Raphael.

"Fondue. Look at this note. It says something about Seven pendants in Europe right?"

Fondue nodded.

"Then that means we can look for the pendants first AND then clues for where the cure is after we've found the pendants! It'll go something like this: Pendant, Cure, Pendant, Cure. We'll keep repeating that pattern until we find the cure!"

Fondue barked in agreement and wagged his tail.

"That settles it then. Tomorrow, it's straight to FDR Avenue!" Raphael hopped into the bed, gleaming with joy and relief. "Goodnight Cleo." Then he looked up at the ceiling. "Goodnight Marie. And good luck."

Fondue curled up on the end of the bed and went straight to sleep.

Raphael smiled at him and then turned the lamp off.

**End of Chapter 3**


	4. Chapter 4: Off To Greece!

The rays of the morning sun were shining through the window. Raphael awoke and shielded his eyes from it, though it was a lovely sight he didn't really want it to blind him. He got up and looked in the mirror, a part of his hair was sticking up. Fondue barked at it in a happy way.

"No...Fondue...I didn't cause this to stick up like that…" Raphael reached for his hair and patted it down. Inside the kitchen was very dark, Raphael felt his way to the window and opened it up causing more sunlight to pour into the apartment. He rubbed his eyes. "Fondue…." Fondue came up to him, barking happily. "Could you get me that recipe book that my mom used to use? I was thinking of making pancakes today." Fondue sniffed around the counters while Raphael yawned and stretched. Fondue suddenly stopped in front of a small cupboard and barked. "You found it Fondue?" He came over and opened the cupboard. Searching through he found an old dusty book, he blew the dust off it and thumbed through it. "Pancakes….Pancakes….Pancakes….Ah! Here it is, Blueberry Pancakes." He frowned. "Have we got any blueberries Fondue?" Fondue shook his head and whined. "I thought not. Ah well, we'll just have to do them without the blueberries." Raphael got some flour and eggs out though upon opening the flour packet a big cloud of flour came out. He wafted it away and put the packet down. He had failed to keep the flour off of his skin, a lot of it was already on his cheeks making it look like he had dry pasty cream on them. There was some in his hair too, he shook it out and pour the flour into a mixing bowl. He had put a lot of ingredients into the bowl and started mixing them together with a whisk. "Hey Fondue, can you go see if Cleo's up? She might want to have some." Fondue barked and ran off towards the bedroom. he jumped onto the bed and licked Cleo's face. Cleo opened her eyes tiredly and tried to shove Fondue away. "Fondue…..please stop…" Fondue panted and barked. Cleo sat up. "What do you want Fondue?" Suddenly she heard the sound of something frying in the kitchen. Now Cleo was curious and a bit hungry. She followed the sound to where Raphael was standing in front of a stove with a spatula in his hand, he was flipping pancakes into the air. He turned and smiled. "Morning Cleo. Did you have a good sleep?"

Cleo eyes hadn't even adjusted to the light properly. "Well I was….until Fondue woke me up."

Raphael put his hand on his hip and stared angrily at Fondue. "What have I told you about waking people up?" Fondue bowed his head and whined.

The pancake in the frying pan started to burn. Raphael quickly flipped it into the air but he was too late, the whole underside of the pancake was burnt black. He frowned and put it into the bin. "We'll have to scratch that one." His poured some of the pancake mixture into the pan and started again. Cleo sat down and waited for the pancake to cook, Raphael had said that the first one would be for her. He held out the frying pan to her. "You wanna have a go at flipping it?"

Cleo nodded and took the frying pan. She thrust the pan with all her might and the pancake went flying into the air, she tried to catch it with the pan again but it landed a little bit off the pan instead. The pancake was drooping off of the pan before Raphael pushed it back in with his spatula. He put the pancake on a plate and then went back to the stove to make one for himself.

As Cleo ate the pancake Raphael looked at her. "How is it? I didn't do too bad did I?"

Cleo spoke with her mouth full. "Iit's god."

"What?" Raphael said. He couldn't understand her.

Cleo swallowed her pancake and cleared her throat. "Sorry. I said, it's good."

Raphael smiled. "Ah. So I didn't mess it up then." He flipped his pancake in the air and caught it on his plate. He sat down and ate it with Cleo.

"You got any syrup or anything?" Cleo asked eagerly

"No sorry." Raphael swallowed.

"Aww. I really wanted some blueberries and whipped cream and syrup and chocolate and cherries and bananas and strawberries and-"

"We'll get some like that when we get to Greece." Raphael interrupted.

Cleo put her fork down. "You mean we're going?"

"Yep. Today in fact."

"Really?! You're not just pulling my leg right now?"

"Nope."

"Oh YES!"

"We just have to depend on Emile."

"Who?"

"My friend in FDR Avenue. He can help us find cheap tickets for Greece."

"Oh right. Shall we go see him now?"

"We need to eat first. It's going to be a long day if we are going to Greece."

Cleo agreed with him. You couldn't go a whole day without energy. Once they had finished their pancakes they both got dressed and headed out for FDR Avenue. Cleo of course didn't know Emile like Raphael did.

"So what's this Emile guy like?" Cleo asked.

"He's a bit…..nerdy. But he's really helpful. He wrote a whole page on the 100 year war once. He told me he had no problem with it."

"Sounds like a huge geek to me."

"Haha. Yeah he is a big geek but he's very clever and will be able to help us out with these tickets. He might even give us a little lecture on Greece."

"Oh great.." Cleo grumbled. She was not in the mood for lectures of any kind, especially coming from a geek.

"Don't worry. Sometimes the lectures are really interesting and not that long." They turned into FDR Avenue. "Here we are. Now Emile should be-" Raphael stopped. People were walking around and some were seated on benches, Cleo didn't find anything strange about this. So why did Raphael stop?

"Um. Raphael, are you okay?" Cleo shook his shoulder.

"Emile's not here.." Raphael looked around but he still couldn't find Emile. "Where could he be?!"

"Don't ask me! I don't know your nerdy friend as well as you do!" Cleo said angrily.

Raphael held his head in frustration and paced up and down. "...Wait a minute. Simon! Of course, Simon!"

Cleo waved her hands around. "Who's Simon?! What are you talking about?!"

"Simon's my…..boss of sorts. I get paid by him for helping out at his store."

"Oh so you have a job do you?"

"Kind of. It's a part time job at the moment."

"A job's a job."

"Maybe to you. But anyway, he'll probably know where Emile went."

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

They both sprinted back towards Raphael's Apartment. Raphael looked swiftly around for Simon. He saw an old man with silver grey hair standing outside a store. It must have been Simon seeing as Raphael immediately ran up to him.

"Ah! Raphael! Come to help out today?" Simon said cheerfully.

"I can't today Simon. Sorry." Raphael said.

Simon laughed. "No problem! I think I'll be fine on my own today anyway." He looked at Cleo. "Is this a new friend of yours Raphael?"

"Yeah. This is Cleo." Raphael gestured to Cleo. "Cleo, this is Simon."

"Hi Simon." Cleo waved at him.

"Hello there madame! I hope Raphael is treating you right." Simon said.

"Wha-?! W-We're not in a relationship Simon!" Raphael shouted.

Simon chuckled. "I was only joking Raphael."

"A-Anyway. Do you know where Emile is? I really need to ask him something." Raphael folded his arms.

"Yes I do. He went with Michel to the airport, they were saying something about going abroad. To Greece I think."

"To Greece?" Raphael paused. "Thank you Simon. Come on Cleo let's move!" Raphael took Cleo's hand and they both ran to the airport.

"It was nice to meet you Cleo!" Simon waved goodbye to them.

The airport was very busy. There were so many people inside it you'd think it would burst from all the people crowded in there. Raphael and Cleo navigated through the crowd and desperately searched for Emile and Michel. Raphael looked across the large hall and gasped. "There they are!" He yelled. He ran up to them. Cleo followed behind him and saw a dark blue haired man with smart clothes on. He was holding a rich looking suitcase and smiled at Raphael as he ran towards them. Next to the blue haired gentleman was a buck toothed man with large glasses and a nerdy suit. He was clutching a bag with what looked like documents inside it, some of them were sticking out of the bag. Cleo knew that the man with the huge glasses was Emile, he was too nerdy to ignore.

"Raphael! What are you doing here?" Emile greeted Raphael.

"Probably just to see us off." Cleo could tell by Michel's accent that he was posh and rich.

"Actually I had a question for you Emile. Do you know where we could get some tickets for Greece?" Raphael asked.

"For you and the kid? You only need one. Kid's can go for free today." Emile stuffed some of the documents further into his bag.

"Really? Why?" Raphael couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"It's for some sort of celebration or something. I don't know." Michel got out his phone.

"How much do the tickets cost?" Raphael anxiously asked.

"It's €239. Pretty expensive don't you think?" Emile tilted his glasses.

Raphael fished through his pockets and frowned. "Aw I've only got €23."

Cleo looked at the coins. "So I guess we can't go then."

Raphael shook his head. "Nope. Sorry Cleo we'll just have to find another way."

Cleo sighed.

"Oh Raphael. I'm so sorry." Emile looked sadly at them.

"It's okay Emile. Thanks for the help." Raphael turned to walk away.

What could they do now? Greece was too much for a plane flight and Raphael didn't have a car to drive there. Their choices were limited. Suddenly someone called Raphael's name.

"Raphael wait!" Raphael turned around and saw Emile running towards him, his documents were flying out of his bag as he ran. Emile got out his ticket and put it into Raphael's hand. "Take my place."

Raphael was confused. "What?"

"Take my place on the flight Raphael. The kid should be able to get on there too. You've got a passport with you right?"

"Yeah I have."

"Then you should be able to get on without any trouble. They kept spelling my name wrong so the manager told the guys at the ticket place to look for a guy with a blue haired man."

"T-Thank you Emile. But what about you?"

"It's okay! You and the young one deserve to go to Greece more than me. Michel's just there for girls anyway.."

"Typical Michel…"

"The flight leaves at 5:30. I've got to be off now, goodbye Raphael!" And with that Emile ran out of the airport and got a taxi back to Paris. Michel stared at both of them for a while.

"Lucky you Raphael. You get to go with a beautiful woman to a romantic location and with no money spent." Michel winked at Cleo. Cleo was angered by this and grabbed Michel's throat.

"Listen here Michel. I'm 14 and I would never fall for a guy like you, so shut up or I'll punch you through a window." She let him go. Michel blinked at her, she didn't look 14 at all. She looked 15 or 16. Michel went and sat down. Raphael and Cleo followed him. They sat for hours with occasional conversations with each other about Greece, flight trouble and Michel would sometimes slip girls into the conversation. After a while the sun was beginning to set. Cleo had fallen asleep on Raphael's lap, he stroked her hair as she slept. Michel had sketched Greek goddesses onto his drawing pad and added sparkles and loose clothing to them. Raphael gave a disgusted look but said nothing.

"Flight 109 to Greece is now boarding. Would passengers please get to the boarding gates."

Raphael shook Cleo. "Hey wake up, it's time to go." Cleo sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Is it?" She asked.

Raphael nodded. "Yeah."

Michel got out his passport and ticket. "Let's go shall we?" They walked towards the ticket border where two guys in suits were waiting for them. Cleo didn't like the look of these men, they looked strict and ready to give a beating. They took their tickets. "You're the guy who's with uhhh…...that blue haired guy next to you right?"

Raphael nodded. "That's right."

The men gave their tickets back. "Okay then you're through." They let the three through.

Michel was the first to get on the plane and sit down. They were in first class which meant they had good seats and good food too. Cleo played with her seat. "This is so awesome! It can change into a bed!" Raphael couldn't help but laugh quietly to himself at Cleo's playful nature. Suddenly a hooded man came up to him with a note in his hand. "Are you Raphael?" The figure asked.

Raphael nodded. "I am."

He gave Raphael the note. "Read this and take heed. What awaits you in Greece is not a vacation I can tell you that." The hooded figure walked away from Raphael and disappeared off the plane. Raphael checked to see if no one was looking and opened the note. He read it to himself.

'_You are off to an excellent start,_

_But in Greece is not for the faint of heart._

_You'll find the pendent upon the goddesses head,_

_Using of course one piece of lead._

_But be warned, beware, you are not alone._

_For the one who's after you has eyes of stone._

_Avoid her, stay clear. For she is silent,_

_Once she's gone you'll find your pendant of violet._

_Have faith in yourself for she is a tyrant._

_And most importantly, stay away from the Sirens.'_

"Sirens?" Raphael pulled a puzzled face. "I thought those were just myth.."

Cleo turned to Raphael. "What's wrong Raphael?"

He stuffed the note deep into his pocket. "N-Nothing. I'm just thinking."

"If you say so. Me and Michel are gonna get some sleep." Cleo said.

The plane finally took off and Raphael looked at a bright Paris from over 100 feet in the air. "Don't worry Marie. We'll find a cure." Raphael turned over in his seat and tried to go to sleep. But he couldn't stop thinking about Fondue, who was in a cage inside the cargo hold of the plane. "Sorry Fondue…" He whispered. He thought he could hear Fondue whine and bark.

Tomorrow they would have to find a hotel and then look for this goddess, if she had the pendant on her head like the note said then it should be too hard to find. But what about that piece of lead in the poem? What was that about? Whatever it was Raphael was too tired to think about it now. He closed his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.

**End of Chapter 4**


	5. Chapter 5: Pool Party!

Of course the plane trip was not that long. Greece was a fair way from Paris but it wasn't as far as other countries like Japan. Raphael must have slept for at least two hours because as soon as he had gone to sleep he awoke a little time later to Cleo shaking his shoulder.

"Hey Raphael come on! We've landed!" Cleo kept shaking him. Raphael yawned and sat up straight. People were taking their bags out and taking them with them off the aircraft. Raphael was still half asleep, he could barely keep his eyes open.

"Come on sleepyhead! We have to get my suitcase!" Michel shook Raphael violently, which instantly woke him up. All three of them got off the plane and went into the airport hall where suitcases and animal cages were going round on a conveyor belt. Raphael kept his eyes peeled for Fondue. He couldn't bear the fact that Fondue had to go in cage, and got put in the dark cargo hold of the plane. He must have been terrified. Suddenly he heard barking coming from one of the cages, he sprinted towards it and found Fondue shaking and terrified. He let the dog out and he hugged him tightly.

"Hey there Fondue! Was the cargo hold that bad?" Fondue barked and growled. "Haha. I see. We wont go on a plane again, I promise." He let Fondue lick his face before putting him down and then walking back over to Cleo and Michel.

Michel grabbed his suitcase and then they got a taxi to Athens. Cleo could see the lights of the temple of Athena as they came into the city. Once the taxi had dropped them off they looked at their surroundings. Michel got out a map from his pocket.

"Okay so according to this map, the hotel should be…...down this road here." Michel marched down the road, Cleo and Raphael followed behind him while Cleo looked at Athens.

"This place is beautiful, and the temperature's not bad either!" Cleo fanned herself.

They both turned a corner and saw Michel standing in front of a sandstone building with ivy growing on it. "This is the place. Looks pretty old for a hotel." Michel put the map back into his pocket. As they opened the fancy door and went inside Cleo noticed a fountain with a goddess on top of it. Some angels beside her were making water come out of the horns they seemed to be blowing. The reception had two columns beside it with fake ivy on them. The pink haired lobbyist was sorting out some papers until Michel approached her, she looked up and put down her papers quickly. She cleared her throat and spoke in a soft greek accent.

"Welcome to the Aphrodite hotel. Can I help you?"

"Yes. Um...could I have a room for three?" He gestured to Cleo and Raphael.

"Ah yes, we do have a room for three. The last one in fact." She smiled.

"Oh really? Well that's wonderful. I'm glad we got here in time."

The lobbyist giggled and gave Michel a key. "2nd floor, room 216. It should be easy to find." She had beautiful green eyes that sparkled and glimmered in the light of the oil lamp above her. Michel couldn't help but blush and tried to ask her if she was single but Raphael came up to him and stopped him.

"We should go to our room. Thanks for helping us out." He took Michel and whistled to Fondue and Cleo. All three of them went up to the 2nd floor together.

Michel elbowed Raphael. "Why'd you do that?! I was gonna try to reel her in!"

"That's the point Michel. You can't just straight up ask the question to any girl like that!" Raphael hissed.

"I can do what I want! I am on holiday after all." Michel put his hands on his hips.

"Will you boys stop arguing?! I wanna check out this cool room!" Cleo had already opened the door with the key. Michel checked his hand and had realised that Cleo had stolen it off him.

"Y-You….you little sticky fingered.."

"That's enough Michel! Let's just check out this room and get some rest okay?!" Raphael really wanted Michel to shut up. Michel did what he said and went into the room.

As they came inside a dark ocean view window greeted them, it was a balcony with two chairs perched on it facing the ocean. There was a seafoam coloured single and double bed in the room with a mirror drawer and a coffee maker on top of it. There were greek tiles covering the walls in the bathroom with a godworthy beautiful bath inside it. The sink and the mirror were completely normal though. The three of them stared at it in awe, Cleo suddenly shouted 'woop'.

"Dibs on the double bed!" She yelled as she jumped onto it.

Raphael and Michel stared at her. "I'm taking the single bed." Michel whispered to Raphael. Raphael glared at him. "What? I want some space, it's not like I ship you and her or anything.." His voice trailed off as he said this, he went to the single bed and laid on it. Raphael went and sat on the double bed where Cleo was still jumping on it.

"Can you please stop Cleo? This is for resting not bouncing.."

Cleo stopped jumping and sat down beside him. "Aww, you're no fun." Cleo picked up the flyer beside her and read it. She suddenly gasped and shrieked with excitement.

Raphael sighed. "What is it now Cleo?"

"They have a POOL!" Cleo hugged the flyer.

"What? Let me read that." Michel took the flyer off Cleo and read it. "So they do. That's awesome! Oh we must go and chill at the pool Raphael!"

"It's probably closed."

"No it's not. Look they're open from 9:00am till 10:00pm. It's 7:30pm now." Cleo pointed to the times to show them.

"Come on Raphael," Michel put arm around Raphael's neck, "It'll be fun!"

Raphael shoved Michel away. "We don't have swimming costumes…"

Michel smiled and opened his suitcase. He took out some books, maps, money, hiking equipment. Until he got to two pairs of trunks and three pairs of women's swimsuits. Raphael stared at Michel.

"I brought the lady swimsuits in case I met some chicks and they didn't have swimsuits of their own."

"You're disgusting.."

"I'm being a gentleman in my own way okay?!"

Cleo picked up a two piece swimsuit. "Can I wear this?"

"NO! NO NO NO NO NO!" Raphael made her put it back into the suitcase.

"Alright! Alright!" Cleo picked up a one piece swimsuit with a mermaid on it. "What about this?"

"It looks a bit kiddy to me." Raphael said.

Cleo looked at it. "Yeah….you're right." Cleo put it back and picked up another one. This one was blue with sparkling gems on it. It was a two piece bikini but it wasn't as seductive looking as the other one. This one looked like it was part of the ocean. "What about this?"

"It's a bikini but it doesn't look too bad." Raphael said.

Michel snapped at her. "I only use that for girls I really like! Put it back!"

Raphael hit him on the shoulder. "It's the only one that suits her! Unless you'd like a 14 year old girl to be in something as seductive as that last bikini she showed us!"

"Who are you? Her father?" Michel had a point. Raphael was being as defensive as a caring father. Raphael looked down sadly.

"I-I'm taking care of her for now. I'm not her father but I'm her guardian."

Cleo held his hand. "Yeah, he's way more handsome than my dad anyway."

Raphael's eyes widened and he blushed. "U-Um….well.."

Michel laughed. "After all these years you still haven't gotten the hang of taking a compliment without blushing till you go red."

Raphael glared at him but ignored Michel and took out a pair of trunks from the suitcase. "I think Cleo should get changed in the bathroom." Cleo nodded and went inside, careful to lock the door behind her. Raphael and Michel chatted to each other while getting changed.

"So what's the thing between you and her?"

Raphael stared at him. "There is no 'thing'. She was thrown out of her parent's car and I comforted her."

"Thrown out of her parent's car? Ouch."

"Yeah. I don't really know the reason why they threw her out but the reason was enough for them to harm their own daughter."

"They're probably trying to keep her safe or something."

"Huh?"

Michel took off his shirt. "Think about it. Why would they throw her out without explaining why? They're her parents, they love her with all her heart."

"How do you know?"

"Look at her outfit. She's obviously rich enough to be able to afford that pendant around her neck. The gem in the pendant is a real sapphire, necklaces like that are expensive."

Raphael had gotten his trunks on and stood up straight. "So you're saying that someone or something is after her?"

"Exactly." Michel sat on the bed.

Raphael went and knocked on the bathroom door. "You done in there Cleo?"

"Yep! Just let me unlock the door.." The door made an unlocking sound and a different girl emerged. She looked like a mermaid turned human with a swimsuit that made her look like she was the princess of the seas. Her hair was flowing and free, but it was still short, it came down to just below her shoulders. She had kept the sapphire pendant around her neck to complete the outfit. Raphael stared at her with his mouth open. This wasn't the same tough girl he had met before, this was a beautiful young woman in a swimsuit.

Michel came to look. "Hey! You're rocking that swimsuit."

"Thanks. I thought I might as well take my ponytail out, I am swimming after all." Cleo looked at Raphael. "Are….you okay? You're blushing an awful lot."

Raphael shook his head but the redness stayed where it was. He couldn't hide it, not even from Cleo. He smiled awkwardly at her.

"Haha! I love how you're dealing with this Raphael! It's hilarious!" Michel laughed. He pushed Raphael towards her. "Just kiss her, Raphael my boy! Do it while you have the chance!"

Raphael elbowed him away. "Stop it! I don't want to kiss a 14 year old girl, it'll be awkward!"

"Alright, I was joking Raphael." Michel assured him.

Cleo folded her arms. "I think we should get going to the pool. I can't wait any longer!"

"Are you sure we're supposed to come in our swimsuits?"

Michel looked at everyone. "We can….throw on dressing gowns. They'll understand….right?"

Raphael facepalmed and sighed.

They all put on dressing gowns, though Cleo's was a bit too big, and went out to the pool. The pool was a beautiful clear blue with a tiled turtle at the bottom of it. There was an amazing view of Athens at the side of the pool. Strangely there was not another person in sight, it was just Raphael, Michel and Cleo (Fondue had to wait outside because of the rules of no dogs allowed in the pool).

Cleo was the first to jump in. "YOLO!" She shouted as she jumped and the water swallowed her up. A few seconds went by and Cleo suddenly emerged from the deep. "Ahhh! That's cold! That's cold!" She swam to the side with chattering teeth. Raphael and Michel followed after her and swam around for a while. Cleo was always under the water, either doing acrobats or just sitting there and letting her hair flow underwater. Raphael tried it too, he loved it, Raphael sat next to Cleo underwater and they both stared up at the surface with Cleo blowing bubbles every now and then. When they both came up Michel was there watching them.

"You have a lovely time?" Michel said with a wink.

Raphael ignored him and swam to side, he looked out at Athens and thought of Marie. How he wished she was here right now. Cleo was a good friend but Marie and him had a deeper relationship. Raphael remembered when he protected Marie with his life, listened to her play and managed to pick himself back onto his feet because of her. If Marie wasn't there when Paris was nearly destroyed by the gardens he didn't know what he'd do. Michel and Cleo were playing with a beach ball, Raphael watched them. Marie was sick and suffering while Cleo was happy and playful. Raphael suddenly realised. He was grieving over an old friend at a time when he could actually do something about it. He realised that Cleo was not just a tough 14 year old, she was another girl that trusted him, she was another girl that he could protect and encourage like he did with Marie all those months ago. He could make her feel better when she was sad and she was certainly okay with hugging him. Cleo was another bright spark of happiness that had walked into his life and made it bright again. Cleo tried to catch the ball but missed it, she was about to swim over and get it until Raphael swam over to it and handed it to her.

"Mind if I join in too?" He asked with a smile. Cleo nodded and then they played for hours. With Raphael on Cleo's team they won the ball game with no problem. Michel went and sulked over in a corner while Raphael and Cleo looked out at Athens.

"What made you come and play?" Cleo asked Raphael.

He shrugged. "I just felt like it I guess." He didn't want to tell her about his realisation just yet. He held her hand. "If anyone tries to hurt you I'll beat them up okay?"

Cleo chuckled. "That's nice of you Raphael, but I can take care of myself. Remember those constables I beat up before?"

"But there could be stronger enemies here. Stronger than we even know, strong like those chevaliers I faced.." He held her hand tighter as he said this.

"You sound like you think I'm going to die if we face these 'stronger enemies' you speak of." Cleo shook her hand out of his. "I can take people on and juice information out of them. I'm pretty useful."

Raphael folded his arms. "You never know. They could be hiding an ace up their sleeve."

Cleo shrugged. "Maybe."

"Hey you two! Are you getting out?" Michel was already out of the pool and drying off. "It's almost 10 guys! Let's get back to our room!"

Raphael and Cleo both got out and dried off. They put their dressing gowns on and went back to their rooms. Michel provided them both with pajamas to wear. Cleo had a blue pajama top with sea green shorts and Raphael only had red pajama trousers on. Michel had a smart navy blue buttoned pajama shirt with matching pajama trousers.

"Why do I only get some pajama trousers?" Raphael snapped.

"I lost the pajama top or something? I don't know! I couldn't find it." Michel answered. He laid on the single bed and started to read a book.

Raphael sat on the double bed and watched Cleo play on her iPod. She had small headphones on her head and was nodding her head at some tunes. There was no TV in the room so Raphael couldn't watch some Greek TV or anything. He laid back and put arms behind his head. Fondue sat on the bed and curled up. Raphael smiled at him and took his glasses off, he put on the bedside table. Cleo put her iPod away and pulled the covers over her to get some sleep. Michel put down his book and went to sleep, he snuffled a little bit into the pillow.

Cleo turned over to Raphael. "Raphael..?"

He looked at her. "Yeah?"

"This might sound a bit childish but can you tell me a story?" Cleo looked at him sleepily.

"Sure." He smiled and sat up straight. "Once upon a time there was a young boy with bright red hair." He stroked Cleo's hair. "Though other people thought it was strange his mother and father still loved him very much. His mother was a ballet dancer and his father was an office worker…...or at least that's what he thought. They all lived happily and were a bright nice family, everything was fine…..until that fateful day. The young boy was waiting for his mother to come home from one of her live concerts, he waited eagerly for her to open the door and embrace him. Suddenly, his father came in with tears in his eyes. The boy wondered what was wrong. His father kneeled down to his height and held his shoulders. He said in a quiet voice: "Your mother is dead Raphael." The boy instantly bawled his eyes out and hugged his father tightly. The mother apparently died in a car crash while coming back from the concert, it was thought that something jumped out at her which caused the car to be found in a ditch." Cleo was asleep now, Raphael laid her head gently on the bed. "After that the father shut his son out. They never had that happy spark they did before, the father never saw his son as often as he did before and then before the son knew it, his father just…..left him with no reason. Ever since, the son has been searching for his father with the help of a coin. He hoped that using the coin would help him locate his father and finally be reunited with him…..The End.."

Raphael laid down upon the bed. He tried to keep the tears in but he couldn't. Soon enough he bawled his eyes out, he missed his father and his feelings couldn't deny that. There was no one to hug him or make him feel better so he just cried himself to sleep and went into the abyss of his mind.

**End of Chapter 5**


	6. Chapter 6: The Omen

The next morning Raphael's eyes were raw red. When he rubbed them they stung, he winced in pain a little bit. Cleo and Michel were already up, Cleo was making coffee. She looked at Raphael.

"Are you okay? You're eyes look raw." Cleo asked worriedly.

Raphael shook his head. "I'm fine. I just had some…..painful memories come back to me."

Cleo shrugged and pour some hot water into the coffee cup. "Michel's been dying to try some of that breakfast downstairs. There's pancakes with cream, blueberry muffins and all sorts." She stirred in the cup and drank it. A warm smile spread across her face as she swallowed it. "That's some good coffee there.."

"Where is he now?" Raphael looked around the hotel room.

"He's in the bath at the moment. Needed to 'get ready to shine' apparently."

Raphael scoffed. "Pay no attention to what he says Cleo. Michel's nothing but a big show off."

Cleo knew this too well, she took another sip. "I'm thinking that we check around Athens a little bit today. The people might have some idea of this pendant on the goddess's head."

Raphael remembered the note, he dug it out of his pocket. Cleo put down her cup and came over to read it. She smacked him round the head. "OW! What was that for?!" Raphael held his head.

"Why didn't you show me this?!" Cleo snapped.

"It didn't feel like the right timing when I got it, I thought I might as well let you and Michel get some shut eye!"

Cleo threw her hands in the air. "Whatever, just let me read this note of yours okay?" She took it off him and read it. Silence spread across the room before Cleo cocked an eyebrow at the piece of paper and pulled a confused look. "Sirens eh?"

"Yeah. You know what those are right?"

"Sure I do! They were half bird, half women seductive creatures that lure sailors into jagged rocks with their singing." Cleo's eyes widened. "Does that mean….they'll try to flirt with you or Michel if we come across one?"

Raphael hadn't thought of that. He was never romantically good with girls, especially when they came at him with batting eyes and lips near his. He shivered at the thought. "I...I..hope not.."

Cleo put her arm around his shoulder. "It's okay Raphael, I won't let them come near you."

He was blushing again. "H-Hey! I'm the one who should be doing the protecting here!"

Cleo giggled. "Oh Raphael…"

Raphael was angrily blushing. He covered his face with his hands and shook his head violently. "D-Don't look at me!"

He heard a soft laugh but still kept his face covered. He suddenly felt soft hands pulling his hands off his face. He stared, entranced, at Cleo's beautiful face meeting his. The redness was slightly disappearing from his face. He had never felt like this before, not even around Marie. Cleo had this charm about her that made him blush this way. Raphael shook his head, he was a young man and she was a teenager, he couldn't be falling for her like this. Michel came out of the bathroom while drying his hair with a towel, he stopped and stared at the two on the bed. "Well, well, well," He grinned, "What do we have here?"

Raphael turned his head to Michel. He shook his hands off of Cleo's. "N-Nothing…" He continued to blush wildly.

"I've got the bathroom today. You and Cleo get changed into your clothes out here." With this he winked at them and went back into the bathroom with his clothes.

"Michel wait!" But he had already gone inside and locked the door. "Ugh he frustrates me sometimes.." Put his hand on his head and breathed out.

"Relax Raphael, I'm already half dressed anyway." Cleo had already got her fedora and dolphin t-shirt on, she was putting her sapphire pendant around her neck. "I suggest you do the same."

"B-But I'm a boy and you're a girl!"

Cleo stopped and looked at him. "So?"

"Boys and girls shouldn't get changed in the same room as each other. It's awkward!"

"Tell me Raphael. Are you really going to look at a shirtless teenage gi-"

"NO NO NO! I would NEVER do that!"

"Then there's nothing awkward about it. If we're not even going to look at each other then where's the awkwardness there?" Cleo did have a point.

Raphael crossed his arms and sighed. "Okay but none of us can turn around until we've gotten completely dressed, got it?"

"Got it." Cleo turned around and Raphael did too. They both got changed in silence, though Cleo finished first but she didn't turn around. She went out onto the balcony and looked out to the shimmering clear blue ocean. There were some windsurfers gliding across the moving blue carpet with the waves gently crashing against the cliffs.

Raphael put his glasses on and stood on the balcony beside Cleo. "Beautiful isn't it?"

"You could paint that." Cleo said pointing.

"I wish I could, I have a steady hand but I can't exactly paint anything. I don't want to become like my father.." He starting to tear up again but the unlocking of the bathroom door made his tears disappear.

"I'm out!" Michel was in a posh summer outfit with sunglasses resting on his forehead and brown shorts with flip-flops to match. He strode out and stretched. "Come on guys! I'm starving!"

Raphael hadn't noticed how hungry he was, his stomach rumbled. Fondue whined in hunger. "Yeah I'm hungry too, let's go get some breakfast shall we?" Fondue wagged his tail and drooled, he jumped off the bed and ran out the room.

"Fondue's defiantly as hungry as me!" Cleo ran out after him.

"Hey wait for us!" Raphael and Michel followed them both out.

The breakfast hall was glamorous just like the lobby, except it was bigger. It had four fountains representing four Greek gods. Zeus, Poseidon, Hades and Dionysus. The room was complete with a view of Athens, with the temple of Athena perched on the top of it. They luckily got a window table and Cleo went to get some food. She brought back a whole plate with 5 pancakes stack on top of eachother. They had cream, berries, ice cream, chocolate sauce, chocolate chips, strawberries, they had all the toppings you could think of! Raphael and Michel just had a small continental breakfast, with a piece of ham for Fondue. Cleo cut a piece of her pancakes off and ate it quickly.

Raphael stared at the pancakes, they were pretty big and flat. "Are you sure you can eat all that Cleo?" He asked worriedly.

Cleo had already devoured her first pancake on the pile. "Ill bfee finee" She said with her mouth full.

Raphael looked at the TV, the news was on, there were subtitles to translate what they were saying but there was nothing really going on. He was about to turn away when something caught his eye.

The woman on the news looked at the camera and spoke in a clear greek voice, Raphael read the subtitles at the bottom of the screen. "Last night a group of mysterious girls beat up a man and dragged him away from The Aphrodite Hotel." Raphael spat out his orange juice and coughed, that's where they were! "The girls are thought to work for an organisation that is after someone. It's thought that the target is the Queen of England, Elizabeth II, but no proof has been given of this theory. The man was inside the hotel for unknown reasons and had just come out before the girls viciously beat him up and dragged his limp body away." The video camera recording was shown as she said this. The hooded man came out of the hotel and then suddenly, out of nowhere, 6 girls jumped out and pounded him until he was knocked out. They dragged him by his hood up the street. The woman continued. "In other news, the search for the young boy continues as the millionaire couple are still searching for their child. Mr and Mrs Valice's child has mysteriously vanished from them…" Raphael wasn't paying attention by then, he had heard enough. Cleo however was staring at the TV, her ice blue eyes focusing on it intently.

"Hey Cleo, you okay?"

That caught her off guard. She jumped and stared at him, her eyes wide. "..Y-Yeah I'm fine.." She ate her pancake nervously.

"You're as pale as a ghost. Is there something on the news or-"

She banged her fork on the table. "I told you I'm fine!" She yelled. Raphael stared at her, Cleo was uneasy about something and he knew it.

He spoke to her calmly. "Why don't we finish breakfast and get ready to go out?"

Cleo nodded. "Yeah. I wasn't that hungry anyway."

They finished up and went back to their room to plan out their day. Michel opened the map of Athens on his bed.

"Okay so we're going to be visiting Acropolis Museum, Athens national gardens and The Pantheon. We got a busy day ahead of us so we need plenty of suncream and water." Michel said.

"It'll probably take some time to check through them all…" Raphael was unsure about powering through them all in one day.

Cleo played with her necklace. "We could split up and check one area each."

Raphael looked at her. "That is a good idea but I'm not too sure about leaving you on your own.."

"Then come with me!" She took Raphael's hand. "We could check the gardens while Michel checks the museum."

"Hey hey hey! Hold on!" Michel stood up. "I don't want to look around some boring museum! I'm meant to be on holiday which that I deserve enjoyment not an art expedition!"

Cleo slipped her knucklebusters onto her hands. "If you don't check the museum I'll break your nose."

Michel gulped at the glimmering golden weapons on her knuckles.

"Now you go to the museum and we'll go to the gardens. Got it?" Michel nodded reluctantly, all colour had disappeared from his face. Once Michel had left the hotel room Cleo got something out of her pocket.

"Oh yeah someone gave this to me last night," She handed to him, "They said it was for you."

Another note. What could it be about this time? Raphael opened it up and read it.

'_I don't have much time so I have to be quick,_

_There's something brewing and it's making me sick._

_They're coming, the sirens, there's no doubt._

_Though I don't know what their goal is about._

_Find the pendant of pride upon Athena's head,_

_Do it quickly, before you end up dead.'_

"D-Dead?!" Cleo exclaimed.

Raphael recognised the name. "Athena…" He put the note in his pocket. "Wasn't Athena the goddess of wisdom?"

"Yes that's right, there was a temple dedicated to her but…" She shook her head. "I can't remember the name of it.."

"It's okay. There's probably a statue of her in the gardens somewhere." Raphael assured.

Cleo looked at Fondue who was eager to go. "How about we get to the gardens right now?"

"Yeah sure, but uhh…" Raphael tugged at Cleo's jacket. "Are you sure you're going to be okay wearing this? It's pretty warm outside, even for Greece."

"Pfft. I'll be fine, I've experienced worse temperatures than this believe me."

"Okay if you say so." Raphael was still uneasy about her keeping her jacket on, so he took a bottle of water with him just in case. Raphael quickly put on his Phantom R suit and went outside with Cleo.

The bright sun of Greece greeted them as they came out. The streets were bustling with people, a lot of them were walking and there was not a car to be seen. Phantom R couldn't believe how old the buildings looked, it was like they were walking through Ancient Greece. Cleo walked off down the street, Phantom R was about to follow her when suddenly a girl with blonde hair and a black tank top jumped in his way. She pinned him up against the wall of the hotel.

"Hey there baby.." She said while stroking his cheek.

Phantom R blinked, he was very uncomfortable with this. "H-Hi….um….could you get off of me please?"

She laughed. "But don't you want to have some fun? You definitely seem like my type." She touched his chest gingerly.

Phantom R brushed her hand off. "I'm not into those kind of things." He said angrily.

The girl simply smiled and grabbed his chin gently. "Alright, well let me give something that you'll never forget…" She pouted and drew him in closer to her. Their lips were less than a centimetre apart when suddenly Cleo cut in and pushed the girl away. The girl stumbled and fell over.

"Why don't you leave him alone and go be with boys of your own age?!" Cleo hissed. She was right, the girl looked at least in her middle twenties. The girl stood up, glared at Cleo and walked angrily away.

Cleo followed the girl with her eyes until she was out of sight, then she turned to Phantom R. "Raphael, are you okay? That girl came from nowhere!"

"I-I know. I wonder what she wanted…" Phantom R said.

"Probably just to get you to fall in love with her," She shrugged, "But I know you're not the type of man to go after just any girl."

Phantom R felt quite scarred after that, what if other girls tried to do that to him? He felt this sudden sense of paranoia growing over him. Cleo comforted him which calmed him down a lot.

"If anyone else tries to do that to you, push them away or beat them up. That's what I always do." Cleo cracked her knuckles.

"Sometimes violence isn't always the answer." He sighed.

"It is in my books." Fondue woofed in agreement.

"Well, anyway, let's head to the gardens. Hopefully we can finish up before Michel."

After that uncomfortable and strange encounter the two of them headed towards the gardens of Athens. The gardens were behind the hellenic parliament building so they weren't hard to spot once they were round there. The gardens were teeming with ducks, Phantom R couldn't blame them, the pond was pretty big. A shaded arbor could be seen, Cleo thought of going under there once they had finished their investigation. Fondue barked at some of the ducks while Phantom R and Cleo sat down on a bench.

"So what now?" Cleo asked.

"We look around here. If there's any statue of Athena here then the pendant should be on her head like the note said."

"Heh heh. You made that rhyme!" Cleo giggled.

"I...I did….hehe.." He chuckled. "Pretty ironic considering how the note rhymes as well." He looked across the pond and blinked. There was the girl that had tried to kiss him before. "We'd better find this statue quickly…" He whispered to Cleo.

"What? Why?" Then she saw the girl as well. "Oh right. Yeah, we don't want her pinning you again."

They both sprinted from the bench and came under the shaded arbor, Fondue had followed them and was panting furiously. They were both out of breath themselves, Cleo was wheezing.

"Hey are you okay?" Phantom R put his hand on her shoulder.

After a few wheezes Cleo was breathing normally. "I…...It's nothing. I'm just winded that's...all"

"I don't know….you were wheezing quite heavily.."

She brushed her jacket. "Relax I'm fine. It's pretty normal for me to wheeze like that anyway."

"Okay...if you say so." Phantom R looked around. "Where's this statue supposed to be anyway?"

Cleo brought out a map of the gardens. "Well according to this map it's-"

"Now hold on a minute!" Phantom R yelled. "Where did you get this map from?!"

Cleo stayed silent for a moment. "...I stole it from someone…"

Phantom R couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You….WHAT?!"

"I had to! They had their back turned and I saw the map hanging out of their back pocket and I just…" Cleo shuffled uncomfortably.

She expected him to get angry and shout at her, but instead his face softened and he just sighed. "At least you did it in the name of progress." He took the map from her and looked at it. He put his finger on it and followed it with his eyes until he found the statue. "Ah, here it is. Looks pretty cool if you ask me."

"So shall we head there? Before that girl comes along?" Cleo looked around for her.

"Yeah. The sooner the better."

Quick was what they had to be, the girl could come up behind them and flirt with Phantom R again. He certainly didn't want that. Soon the statue was in sight but there was no pendant to be seen on her head. They took a closer look but there was no pendant in sight.

"You don't think….someone's been here already do you?" Phantom R asked worriedly.

"No. This isn't Athena anyway, she looks way more important and warrior like than this" Cleo sighed. "Well that's one place checked off the list."

"Do you think Michel's gonna have better luck?"

"I don't know. For all we know Athena could be hidden in a mountain or something."

Suddenly an ice cold but smooth voice interrupted the two. "Thank you so much.." They turned around, it was the girl from before but this time she was holding a whip in her hands. Some small leather pouches were hanging from her skirt, the outfit was complete with her black boots. She looked upon them with hazel eyes. "At least I now know not to check here."

Phantom R glared at her. "Who are you?"

She smirked at him. "Oh honey, I have many names. But most people call me Lulu."

Cleo snorted and giggled into her hand. "..I-I'm sorry. What was that name again? Lulu?"

"Yes do you have a problem with it?" Lulu asked sternly.

"...Maybe...hehe.." Cleo giggled again and it slowly turned into a laugh.

Lulu glared at her and cracked her whip towards her.

"Cleo! Look out!" Phantom R jumped in the way of the whip and got scratched across the face with it. A red mark could be seen across his cheek.

"PHANTOM R!" Cleo yelled.

"See? This is what happens when you mock someones name. Now if you'll just come with me." She started to stride towards Phantom R when Cleo punched her in the stomach and roundhouse kicked her to the floor.

She turned to Phantom R "Phantom R are you okay?!" Cleo couldn't have a chat with him though, Lulu got back onto her feet and cracked her whip while laughing.

"You just made the wrong enemy.." Lulu lunged at Cleo and elbowed her in the face. Cleo staggered back, she ran towards Lulu and tried to punch her again. The two went on for a good five minutes, blocking each others attacks, until Cleo tripped Lulu up and kicked her into a hedge. Lulu brushed the leaves off only to get pounded by Cleo numerous times. Everytime she took a slug to the face she became weaker and weaker, Cleo did the final blow on Lulu which sent her crashing into the pond. Lulu was now covered in bruises and had a black eye. She tried to get up and fight Cleo but she realised her body couldn't handle the young girl's strength. "W-We….shall...meet….a...again…" And with that she limped off out of the pond.

Cleo watched her until she was out of sight then she ran over to Phantom R. "Phantom R! She hit you didn't she?"

He touched his cheek and felt it sting. "Y-Yeah. Don't worry though. I'll be okay."

"We need a big plaster for this scratch on your cheek," Cleo looked angry, "Lulu shouldn't have fought against me on her own, if she knew how strong I was she would have brought an army with her."

Phantom R now knew what he was facing, a girl with a whip and heaven knows what else. If the enemies here were this strong then he and Cleo should be wary. He stood up. "We should get out of here, we don't want to draw anymore attention."

Cleo nodded in agreement and they both went out of the gardens. All that they had been through in one day, stories on the news of a man being beaten up, a girl forcefully flirting with him and now that same girl whipping him and Cleo. Things couldn't possibly get worse right?

He was dead wrong.

**End of Chapter 6**


	7. Chapter 7: Party Over

Golden was the only way to describe the sky right now. The setting sun painted the sky with a brilliant orange and golden colour that made the sky look like a Van Gogh painting. Athens was lit up beautifully too, not as good as Paris but it was still a beautiful sight. Raphael, who had now changed out of his Phantom R suit, bought some greek ice cream with some of the euros in his pocket. He shared the ice cream pot with Cleo, each of them taking a bite and sharing the spoon. Raphael let Cleo have the last bit of ice cream to which Cleo grabbed the spoon and wolfed the rest of it down. In terms of The Seven Deadly Sins, Cleo would represent Gluttony. The way she was devouring the ice cream was very animalish to say the least.

"Be careful you don't choke on it.." Raphael said.

Cleo had ice cream all around her mouth. "Hat are tlllaking abot? I'm fin!"

Raphael could only raise his arms and shake his head.

They came up to the hotel, no sign of Michel. Raphael looked around a bit more, the blue haired man was no where to be seen. Cleo was inside already, Raphael followed her in. Strangely, Cleo was talking to the lobbyist. She seemed distorted and upset about something, Cleo was confronting her, Raphael strode up to them while Fondue sat down on the seat.

"Don't cave in now! You can do it!" Cleo looked up and at Raphael.

"What's wrong?" Raphael rested his arms on the desk.

The lobbyist sniffed. "I-I'm engaged to someone."

"Is he nice to you?" Raphael asked.

The lobbyist nodded. "Oh yes he's very nice. He lives in Denmark, we've been together for 3 years now and I thought now was the time to…" She looked down. "I want to propose to him…"

Cleo held both her hands. "You can do it! I know my father didn't give up when he wanted to propose!"

"My father did the same." Raphael cut in. "He proposed to her on a boat on the Seine, Mom said it was the most romantic thing she had ever experienced." He smiled sadly.

"But how shall I propose to him?" The lobbyist asked.

"You know that sapphire ring that you showed me?" Cleo pointed to the velvet box on the desk.

"Yes, it's meant to symbolise the ocean. It's where me and him first met."

"Use that ring and just be yourself. You don't want to make a fake personality for his sake do you?" Cleo held both her hands tightly.

"N-No, and I know he loves me for who I am!" She smiled at Cleo and Raphael. "Thank you both, I feel a lot less nervous now."

"No problem….uhhh…" Cleo scratched her head. "I'm sorry but what's your name?"

The lobbyist pointed to a name tag on the front of her shirt. "Charisma" She said as she ran her finger along it.

"Nice to meet you Charisma! I'm Cleo and this is Raphael!" She gestured to Raphael next to her.

"H-Hi." He waved.

Charisma looked deep in thought for a minute. "...Ah! Yes! Your friend said that he's waiting upstairs for you, just knock on the door and he'll open it."

So Michel was back after all. Better yet, he was waiting for them upstairs. "Thank you Charisma." Raphael whistled to Fondue and went up the stairs.

Cleo waved at Charisma as she went with Raphael. "Goodbye Charisma and good luck!"

"Thank you so much!" Charisma waved back.

When they got inside Michel was sitting on the bed and looking at his map of Athens. He saw them and stood up with a serious look on his face. It looked like something had happened while he was at the museum.

"Hey there Michel!" Raphael said but Michel kept his serious face on which made Raphael's smile melt off his face.

"Are you okay Michel?" There was still no answer from him despite Cleo's efforts. They stared at each other in silence for a minute, with Michel still looking serious and Cleo and Raphael confused as to what has made him go this cold all of a sudden.

Michel sighed. "Let's go swimming in that pool again tonight."

"Oh yeah! I love it! Don't you Raphael?" Cleo looked at Raphael innocently.

Raphael looked back at her nervously. "Y-Yeah sure. Why not?"

Michel still said nothing even as they were getting changed. Cleo got to use the bathroom again. Raphael was still wondering what made Michel become like this, he was happy and cheery before but now he was cold and, he didn't know why but, somewhat angry. Everyone was ready and about to go until Michel told Cleo to go ahead without them, Cleo nodded and went out, closing the door gently behind her. Michel stood to face Raphael, staring icey cold daggers into him.

"Listen Raphael." Michel sucked in a breath. "I know your secret."

Raphael's blood went cold, he could feel it freezing up inside him making his body stop and unable to move. He breathed out scared breaths.

Raphael tried to collect himself to speak but the words ended up a bit jumbled. "W-What….but….I'm…..n-not….."

Michel banged his fist on the dresser. "Don't lie to me!" His shout made Raphael jump, which caused him to start shaking. "I know your secret! I know what you've been hiding from me and Emile for all these years!"

Raphael calmed himself down a little. Maybe he doesn't know what he's talking about. Maybe it's another secret he's been hiding. He stood up straight and folded his arms. "Okay. What's my secret?"

Michel held up a newspaper. "You're Phantom R aren't you?"

He did know his secret. Raphael's eyes went wide and scared again. He raised his arms, they were shaking wildly. "L-Listen Michel I-"

"AREN'T YOU?!" Michel interrupted.

Raphael sighed but was still shaking. "Y-Yes. I'm Phantom R"

"I knew it…" Michel threw down the newspaper and sat down on the bed with his arms folded.

Raphael came over to him. "How did you know?"

"When I left the hotel I decided to wait round the corner to prank you and her, but when I saw you two walk out, I saw Phantom R there with her instead. I saw some glasses hanging out of your pocket so there was no mistaking it." He threw a pillow at Raphael. "How could you lie to me?! Why didn't you tell me that you were a famous art thief?!"

"Oh well I don't know. How would you feel if your friend CALLED THE COPS?!" Raphael turned away from him.

"What do you mean?! I wouldn't call the cops! Well, not here anyway." Michel shook his head. "But that's beside the point! I thought you were an ordinary college student like me but now I see that you're a sneaky, sexy art thief!"

Raphael turned around. "Sexy?"

Michel covered his mouth and blushed wildly. "U-Umm….what I meant was...uhh.." He put his hand on his shoulder. "I….envied Phantom R. The way that he was stealing everything with such style and grace. And all the Paris girls loved him, saying that he was handsome and nice and kind. Now I know that you're Phantom R….I know that you're better than me.." He hung his head.

Michel had come across prideful back in Paris, his rich history and ancestors were definitely something to show off. But now he envied the greatest phantom thief in Paris? Raphael could understand if it was someone else but not Michel, Michel had more money and power than him, why did he envy him so badly?

Raphael put his hand on Michel's shoulder. "Hey come on, it's not that glamorous being a thief anyway."

"Yes it is!" Michel looked up. "You can get away with just about anything without batting an eye!"

"I do it for a reason you know. I don't do it for fun." Raphael crossed his arms.

The two friends were silent for a minute. The fan was whirling above their heads, it was the only sound in the room other than the waves outside. Michel took Raphael's hand in his.

"Hey, shouldn't we be going to the pool now? Cleo must be wondering about us." Michel said.

Raphael walked towards the door. "Yeah. I don't want to keep her waiting."

"But Raphael, you must promise to never keep anything from me ever again. Okay?" Michel folded his arms.

Raphael sighed. "Okay…"

"Good." Michel came up to Raphael and patted him on the back. "Now let's get to the pool!" He ran off down the corridor, Raphael followed him.

Cleo was in the pool swimming around, but then she stopped she turned to a pink haired woman in the pool with her. The woman was wearing a green one piece swimsuit with sequins on it. Raphael recognized this woman immediately.

"Charisma!" They both turned to Raphael.

"Oh hey there guys. Yeah Charisma comes here after her shift to unwind." Cleo laid on her back in the water.

Charisma's long pink hair was floating in the water. "It's no big deal. I also come here because it's a chance to get away from people, not that I mind you guys being here."

Michel stepped forward. "So you're name's Charisma? Sweet. Can I get your number honey?"

Charisma folded her arms. "I'm already engaged to someone."

Michel's face dramatically changed. "Heh heh heh…...just kidding.." He laughed nervously.

Raphael rolled his eyes. "Don't mind him, he's always like this."

Cleo swam up to Raphael and pulled his foot. "Come on…..jump in…"

Raphael chuckled and sat down on the side of the pool. "Maybe not today…"

Cleo kept pulling but with more force. "I'll pull you in if I have to."

"If you do that, I'll scream." Raphael smiled at her mockingly.

Cleo smirked. "Now that is something I want to hear." She grabbed his foot tightly and pulled him in.

Raphael let out a high pitched scream as he fell into the pool, it got muffled by the water. Michel burst out laughing and held his stomach. Cleo and Charisma giggled as Raphael's head popped up from the water and glared at Cleo.

"I did say I would scream!" Raphael splashed some water at Cleo.

"I know! And it was the best scream I've ever heard!" Cleo snorted and laughed loudly.

Raphael swam up towards her. "And you have the cutest laugh I've ever heard."

Cleo stopped and blushed. She looked down at the water. "It's terrible really. I snort and everything, I just can't help it."

"Hey don't put yourself down. I don't mind." Raphael said.

Charisma swooned. "Look at you two. Are you a couple?"

They both blinked at her. "U-Ummm….." Cleo began.

Raphael jumped in. "No no no! We're not a couple! I mean she's a bit too young for me and-"

Charisma laughed. "I was only kidding! But for real, you two look like you could be a really cute couple."

"Umm...thanks?" Raphael said.

Charisma closed her eyes and went under the water. Leaving Cleo and Raphael awkwardly staring at each other.

Michel leaned over the side of the pool. "I. Ship. You. Two." He whispered. Then he walked off and laid on one of the sunbeds.

Both of them were blushing like crazy, Cleo's eyes shined in the moonlight which made her look even prettier. Raphael blinked and looked around frequently to try and get the blush to go away, but that just made his cheeks go redder.

Cleo put her hand on his shoulder. "Hey Raphael."

He jumped at her hand on his shoulder. "Y-Yeah?"

"Do you know how to waltz?" She did a waltzing gesture to show him.

Raphael thought back to Versailles and how he had waltzed with Marie in the palace. She was such a happy and bright girl back then but now she was sickly pale and lying in her bed with a black snake tattoo growing all over her body. Raphael felt tears prick his eyes.

"Raphael? What's wrong?" Her voice made his tears vaporize.

"N-Nothing. But to answer your first question, yes I do know how to waltz."

Cleo held out her hand. "Then would you mind waltzing with me? I need to learn it for some odd reason. If it's too awkward, I mean doing it in a pool and all, then that's fine."

Raphael was lost for words. Waltzing in a pool didn't sound like the brightest idea ever and plus, he feel Michel's piercing eyes staring into the back on his head saying 'Go on! Go on!'. But Cleo's face was not one that you could say no easily to. She had those convincing eyes that made you want to say yes to such a puppy dog looking face.

Raphael stared for a minute and then took Cleo's hand. "Sure. I'll waltz with you."

Cleo smiled and they got into a closed position, with Cleo holding Raphael's hand and putting her arm around his neck. And Raphael holding her hand and putting his hand on her hip, he put on his fedora that he left at the poolside and they began to waltz. Michel tried to recreate The Blue Danube Waltz by making noises with his mouth that vaguely sounded like it. Raphael shot a glare at Michel but he kept dancing with Cleo.

"Wow.." Cleo was blown away. "I never knew you were such a good ballroom dancer Raphael."

"Oh I've got a few skills." Raphael winked at Cleo and twirled her around.

Cleo giggled. This was the happiest Raphael had ever seen her. He twirled her around again and hung her over his arm, her head laid back and her hair managed to touch the water.

"I don't know whether to call you Raphael or Phantom R." Cleo said.

"You can call me Phantom R, I have the fedora on after all." He swung her back up and they kept waltzing in the pool.

"Ooh you're really strong." She giggled again.

"Now this is what I'm talking about! All aboard for Clephael!" Michel cheered.

Cleo and Raphael stared at Michel. "No? How about Rapheo?" They continued to stare. "Cletom R?"

"That just sounds stupid.." Cleo said. She let go of Raphael. "I'm going to the showers…" She got out the pool and walked away.

Raphael facepalmed. "See what you've done Michel?"

"Well it's not my fault that I ship you two." Michel crossed his arms.

Raphael was getting annoyed at him now. "Why?! Why do you ship us two?!"

"Woah woah, calm down!" Michel raised his arms. "You two are perfect for each other, as far as I'm concerned she's as nerdy as you. She may be younger but if she was the same age as you, you two would be a good couple."

"You're calling a famous art thief nerdy?" He grinned at him.

Michel gave a disgusted look. "You may be a famous art thief but you'll never be as successful as my father."

That was going too deep, Raphael's father was a forgery artist which was a shameful career in all honesty. Michel's father was a rich aristocrat whose place in business earned him a lot of money.

Raphael looked down sadly. Michel realised he had gone too far. "Raphael….I-I didn't mean it…"

"No, you're right. I'll never be as successful as your father." He got out of the pool, dripping wet from head to toe. "I'll just…..go to the showers.." He walked off sadly. Michel called out for him to come back but Raphael ignored him.

Cleo was in the hot tub and just chilling out. She put her hands behind her head and laid back. Raphael put one of his toes into the steamy water and instantly knew that he would be warmed up in no time. He sat in the hot tub next to Cleo, he put his arm around Cleo and she turned to him.

"Oh hey…" His comforting caught her off guard and she blushed.

"Hi." He smiled at her.

"What happened after I left? I didn't make it awkward did I?" Cleo cuddled up with him.

"No no, not at all." Raphael looked down at the water sadly. "Michel just dug too deep…."

Cleo looked at Raphael's chest. "If you don't mind me asking, how did you build up that much muscle?"

Raphael looked down at his chest. "I….don't really know. I guess I got it from all that running and acrobats but if not then I don't know."

Cleo squeezed her tummy. "I'm really overweight."

Raphael looked at her stomach. She was really slim and in no way, shape or form, fat. "You're not overweight. You're a good enough size."

"No I'm not. I'm really fat look." She squeezed it again.

Raphael smacked her hand away. "You're not fat!" He said sternly.

Cleo stared at him like a scared animal in a cage. The terror in her eyes could be seen clearly.

Raphael softened. "It's you squeezing your tummy like that. That's what's making you think you're fat."

"Well maybe…" Cleo looked down.

"Cleo…" Without thinking, Raphael took Cleo's forehead and kissed it. Cleo gasped and backed away. Raphael covered his mouth, blushing like crazy. "I-I'm so sorry! I wasn't thinking! I-I-" Nothing he could say would fix this, he kept his mouth covered.

"...I-It's okay. I don't mind if you hug me, but kissing…..is going a bit far.." Cleo said.

Raphael nodded. "Y-Yeah, you're right." He put his arms down and sighed. "I just had this feeling get the better of me. I-I shouldn't have kissed your forehead like that, I'm sorry."

Cleo comforted him. "Like I said, it's okay. Just don't do it again."

"I won't, I promise." Raphael said.

They spent the next hour chatting about their favourite things and such. Though Raphael would never forget that moment when he kissed Cleo, on the forehead of course but it didn't matter where he kissed her it still made him blush just thinking about it. Raphael tried to put it out of his head, he was almost a man now, he shouldn't be falling in love with teenage girls. He loved Marie didn't he? He tried to convince himself that he did, but you can never lie to yourself. He just put under the covers and tried to forget it happened.

Charisma had followed them back to their room. Michel let her sit on his bed as he showed her his college work he had to do. Charisma looked through it and even answered some of the questions for him.

"Shouldn't you do your college work by yourself instead of getting a girl to do it for you?" Raphael said.

Michel grinned. "She's only helping Raphael, not doing it for me."

Raphael rolled his eyes and looked at what Cleo was reading, The Bible. Raphael narrowed his eyes. "I didn't know you were religious."

Cleo looked up from the thick book. "I'm not religious. This is the only book in here." She groaned and rested the book on her head. "Where's all the manga books? This book is so boring.."

Raphael shrugged. "The bible's in all hotels so it's not really a surprise for me."

Cleo put the book away and went under the covers.

"Hey Michel, I'm going to go to sleep now. Don't stay up too late okay? We've got a big day tomorrow."

Charisma was confused. "What? What's happening?"

"We're going to the Parthenon tomorrow, apparently there's something there that Raphael wants." Michel said.

"Oh may I come along? I'm not working tomorrow and I know a lot about The Parthenon." Charisma asked.

Raphael thought of Lulu and her whip. The sound of it cracking made him shiver. "I'm not sure. I mean there could be other people after this thing too.."

Charisma fished something out of her pocket, it was a flintlock pistol with golden roses embodied on it. "That's why I take this."

Raphael's mouth dropped open. "You carry a pistol with you?!"

"Yes, it's for self defense." Charisma loaded it with a few bullets and put it back in her pocket. "Just in case these 'other people' try anything funny."

Now Raphael was with two girls who carried weapons with them. What happened to just carrying an instrument?

They planned tomorrow and then went to sleep, only Raphael couldn't sleep. He shut his eyes and laid very still but he couldn't drift off. He went onto the balcony and stared at the jeweled sky towering above the greek sea. The waves were calm tonight, quietly rolling onto the shore and sucking some of the stones out of the sand. The moon shone on the sea with a pristine white light, making the ocean look even more beautiful. Raphael liked this peace and quiet, it was like The Louvre at night but even better. Fondue came out onto the balcony, his tail wagging and tongue out. Raphael kneeled down and stroked him.

"We've had a busy day huh boy?" Fondue barked and panted. "Yeah. We'll have to be prepared for tomorrow though, in case we meet Lulu again…" Fondue growled. "I don't like her either, she's too pushy." He shivered at the thought of her kissing him.

After a while Raphael went back inside and pulled the covers over him. Fondue curled up on the bed and went to sleep, as did Raphael.

The next morning everyone was ready. Raphael changed into Phantom R, Cleo slipped her knucklebusters onto her hands and Michel took his studies. They waited for Charisma to come out with her flintlock pistol in her pocket and then they set off for The Parthenon. Cleo still had the sweets that Raphael bought for her back in Paris and she shared them with the others, though Cleo ate most of them. Once they arrived at The Parthenon Michel got his documents out and read them.

"Okay so according to my studies The Parthenon was a temple built in honor of Athena before it was destroyed. Apparently, they're still trying to rebuild it." Michel put his sunglasses on.

"So Athena represents pride?" Cleo pondered.

"What?" Phantom R asked. "How did you come to that conclusion?"

"In the note it says that the pendant is a violet colour. Violet is the colour of pride. Athena was quite prideful of herself, I mean she had the power to turn a beautiful woman into a gorgon." Cleo said.

Charisma shook her head. "I wouldn't want that to happen to me…" She shivered and tugged at the green scarf around her neck, it was done up in a small bow that tied around her neck gingerly. It was a pretty small scarf so there was no loose part of it hanging out. Phantom R liked her green floral shirt that she was wearing, along with her long green skirt and small pink boots. She looked like an air hostess.

They searched around the ruins for any sign of the statue of Athena but they couldn't get any closer because of construction. They sat down.

"How are we going to get in there? That statue is there, I'm telling you." Cleo said.

"I think I could use a sound to distract them." Phantom R got out his recorder.

"What sounds have you got?" Charisma asked.

"Let's see...horse….bee….ghost….fountain.." Phantom R kept flipping through the sounds. But there was none that could distract the builders. "I got nothing sorry." He put his recorder back into his pocket.

Charisma thought for a moment and then picked up a brick.

Phantom R watched her walk towards The Parthenon. "What is she doing?" He whispered.

"I have no idea." Cleo whispered back.

Charisma gripped the brick in her hand and then vaulted it into a bush. The builders all stopped what they were doing and turned to the bush where the brick had landed. "Is someone there?" One of them shouted as they all went over.

Charisma beckoned the three over and they all ran into The Parthenon.

"What now?" Cleo said.

"We gotta search the place before the builders come back." Phantom R started looking through the rubble.

The rest of them did the same. They found stones, cracked pillars, foundations, but no statue. Charisma suddenly stepped on something and fell through the floor, she let out a small scream and clung onto the side of the floor.

Phantom R stopped and froze. "Charisma!" Phantom R yelled as he ran over. He took her hand and helped her up. Cleo and Michel had ran over too.

"Are you okay?!" Phantom R said.

"Y-Yes I'm fine." Charisma was shaking in fear.

Cleo looked at the hole in the floor. "It looks like you found something Charisma."

Michel shined his phone down the hole. "Looks like a trap door. There's a ladder and everything."

"Should we go down there?" Charisma asked.

Michel put his phone away and began to climb down. "I'll go first to scout the area out." He disappeared into the darkness. They waited for a few minutes before Michel shined his phone up to the others. This meant it was safe.

Cleo climbed down the ladder. "Don't look down…..don't look down…" She kept whispering to herself.

Next was Charisma. "W-What if there's rats down there?! I hate rats!" She said to herself.

Finally Phantom R picked up Fondue and climbed down the ladder with him in his arms. "It's okay Fondue, I got you buddy." He said to Fondue.

It was really dark, Michel had to shine his phone for them to see where they were going. Unlit torches were spread across the walls of the cavern, Michel took a step forward and heard a clicking noise. He thought he had set off a trap and braced himself but instead all of the torches turned on and they found themselves in a golden hall. The hall was decorated with jewels and greek artifacts, only two pillars were holding it up. And right at the end of the hall was the goddess of wisdom herself, Athena. As a statue of course, she was covered in gold and gems. Two magnificent horses were by her side, showing off their beautiful manes, the animal of pride. Right at the top of her golden crown was a small violet pendant dangling off of it.

"There it is!" Cleo pointed to it.

Phantom R stared at the statue. "How on earth are we going to get up there?!"

"It's like the pendant is taunting us…" Michel said.

Charisma walked over to one of the horses. "Maybe these two know?"

Writing suddenly appeared on the horse, Charisma jumped in shock. "H-Hey guys! Look at this!" They all came over. The horse had writing on the bottom of it.

'_The way to get on top of Athena is the way of the snake.'_

Cleo read it again. "What?"

Phantom R looked around and saw a staircase on the statue with a snake symbol on the side. "Ah! He must mean this one!" He was about to go up it when suddenly a loud sound of a hoof smashing on the ground echoed through the cavern. He turned to the horse on the left. It was turned towards Phantom R and now had writing on the bottom of it. Cleo went up to it and read it.

'_Do not listen to Pollux's lies. The way to get on top of Athena is the way of the fox.'_

Cleo looked at the left side of Athena, which also had a staircase but with a fox symbol on it. Cleo scratched her head. "What is this?"

The writing on the horse on the right changed and Charisma read it.

'_Castor is a big liar. Take the way of the snake.'_

"Castor and Pollux…..aren't they the Gemini twins?" Cleo pondered.

"Yeah I think so." Phantom R said.

Castor changed his writing and Cleo read it.

'_Why are you even listening to that idiot? I'm obviously the clever one here. Take the way of the fox.'_

Cleo understood this situation. "I get it now. We have to figure out which one is telling the truth and which one is lying."

"How are we going to do that?" Charisma leaned against Pollux. Pollux's writing changed and a clash of thunder was heard.

'_Do not lean on me puny mortal! You are an ant compared to me.'_

Charisma backed away from Pollux. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She cried.

"We might need the story of Castor and Pollux to figure it out." Cleo said.

Castor changed his writing again.

'_You do not need our past to figure it out. I'm obviously telling the truth.'_

Cleo crossed her arms. "There's got to be something I'm missing."

Pollux changed his writing.

'_There is nothing that you are missing. The way of the snake is the true way.'_

Cleo growled in frustration. "This is getting us no where! Castor and Pollux are giving us no information or clues, and it's all just stupid!"

"Calm down Cleo. A cool head will prevail." Phantom R put his hand on her shoulder.

Fondue looked around and whined. Suddenly he perked up and barked at the statue of Athena.

"Hey! What's up with your dog?" Michel said.

"Huh? Fondue? What is it?" Phantom R came over to him. He looked at the statue and froze. "O-Oh m-y…..i-i-is that…? B-But….it can't be!"

There in the chest of the statue, was Raphael's mother. Her long red flowing hair was shrouded in darkness, and her back dress covered most of the statue. Phantom R stared, open mouthed, at the woman before him. His mother had turned into a vengeful spirit ever since the accident, searching for the person who killed her. The woman pointed below her, where an opening with a staircase inside was.

"M-Mom?" Phantom R said.

The woman let out a piercing scream and flew through Phantom R before disappearing and leaving a trace of dust behind her. Silence dominated the room, everyone stared at Phantom R with shocked looks on their faces. Phantom R stared, wide eyed, into the space where his mother was. He felt a pulsing energy go through him and his bracelet glowed blue. Phantom R stared at his shaking hands, where a blue light was shining through his veins. After a while it disappeared and his hands returned to normal. He still stared at them, trying to comprehend what he just saw.

Cleo finally broke the silence. "U-Umm….w-we can go up now.."

Everyone nodded and went into the opening. Phantom R still had to recover after what he just saw. His mother's spirit and blue energy going through his veins, what did it all mean? Michel climbed on top of the head and grabbed the pendant.

"I've got it!" He shouted and handed it to Cleo.

Cleo studied it. "Look, it even looks like a mirror." The pendant had a small handle at the bottom with the violet gem above it, making it look like an amethyst mirror.

"T-That's pretty cool…" Phantom R said shakily.

"Don't worry Raphael. I don't think any ghosts will come anytime soon." Charisma smiled.

It wasn't just the ghost that was troubling him, it was this whole thing. It felt like this was set up just for them, like someone else was pulling the strings. Phantom R looked down at his bracelet and heard it quietly growl.

They finally emerged from the trap door, Michel quickly checked for the builders. The sun was setting over the greek sea and the builders were just packing up for the day, it seemed they would have to sneak past them to be home free. Phantom R looked around and saw some columns, he grinned.

"I think rhythm is going to be our ally here."

Cleo looked at him. "What?!" She whispered. "How is rhythm going to help us get past them?"

He caught the beat of the song they were listening to, Bad Apple. He knew this song very well.

"Follow my lead." Phantom R went over to the column and hid behind it in time to the beat.

Cleo ran after him and, just like Phantom R, hid behind it in time to the beat. Charisma and Michel followed and soon enough they running and hiding in time to the rhythm of the song. The builders didn't notice the action going on behind them. Cleo thought this was rather fun and started to dance along with the song, Phantom R joined in with her. After the successful sneak out they ran back down to Athens and to the hotel. What a busy day! They were lucky that they hadn't come across Lulu yet, Phantom R was thankful.

Back at the hotel Cleo examined the pendant in closer detail but found nothing out of the ordinary.

"So now that we've found the pendant of pride, what's the next one?" Cleo asked.

Phantom R scratched his head. "I don't know, but I think we're done in Greece. The next pendant could be anywhere.."

"Well at least pride is crossed off the list. I think the next one should be greed." Michel said.

"Greed…..that could be any-"

Suddenly Charisma came bursting in, she was panting and sweating. "R….RUN!" She yelled.

Phantom R stood up in shock. "W-What's wrong Charisma?!"

Charisma pointed at the doorway. "P-Policemen….have burst in….looking for you!"

"WHAT?!" Phantom R exclaimed.

"It's the constables!" Cleo shouted. "We've got to get out of here!"

Michel opened the window. "Quickly! Go through!"

"But Michel! They'll shoot you!" Phantom R explained. Vergier had defiantly toughened up his constabulary unit. They were told that if an accomplice of Phantom R's was found, shoot them.

"You're more important than me! You've got to take care of Cleo! You did say you were her guardian!"

"Y-Yes that's right but-" Phantom R began.

"THEY'RE COMING THIS WAY RUN!" Charisma screamed.

"Go without me, and take Charisma with you as well!" Michel pointed to the forest outside the window. "Keep going and you're sure to find somewhere!"

"But Michel-"

"I SAID GO!" Michel shoved Phantom R out the window, Cleo jumped out with Charisma's hand in hers. Fondue followed shortly after.

They got to the bottom of the hill and then ran. Not long before they were a little way into the forest a loud gunshot echoed through the trees, followed by shouts of constables and a familiar gruff voice that was too far away to understand what he was saying. Branches and leaves were shoved out of the way furiously, sometimes you're just so scared that you don't care what happens to others. After pounding hearts and damaging nature they got to a clearing where they couldn't hear anything except the sounds of the leaves rustling, everything was dark, the moon hung over them like a ceiling lamp.

Phantom R panted heavily. But Cleo was the worst. She was wheezing really badly and she wouldn't stop, even after a few minutes. Phantom R got her to sit down and breathe in and out slowly. She finally started breathing normally but then screwed up her face and burst into tears. Phantom R hugged her tightly. This was scarring even for a girl of her age, the gunshots, the sounds of constables on their tails, the loss of a friend, this was a heavy weight that would take some time to push off. Charisma hugged her as well and combed through her hair. She sang Cleo a lullaby which eventually made her stop crying and put her to sleep. Charisma got a pile of big leaves and put them under her head. Phantom R and Charisma watched Cleo sleep for a while.

"..she's a lot softer than she looks." Charisma said.

"Yeah. Well she is a kid after all. Any child would be scarred by that." Phantom R ran his finger along the soil below him. "Hard to believe I do it every few weeks."

Charisma looked confused but then realised. "Oh yeah, because you are Phantom R aren't you?"

"Yep that's me. Hated by the constabulary, talked about in the press." He smiled.

"I have to say you're a lot more handsome than the constabulary say." Charisma said while blushing a little bit.

Phantom R looked up at her. "Oh?"

"Yeah, the constabulary make you out as a good for nothing snake. But you look like an okay guy to me!" Charisma smiled.

Phantom R chuckled. "The constabulary always tells lies about me, they never even show my face in the newspapers."

Charisma lied down. Phantom R did too. "So where's the nearest country from here?" He asked.

"Well apparently they're looking for you in pretty much all the countries in Europe, according to them anyway, but the only place where they haven't got constables is Italy." She said.

"Italy?" He sat up. "You mean they haven't got constables in Italy?"

"Nope. I looked on their patrol planner and I didn't see Italy on there!" She giggled.

"Wow. That's unusual of the constabulary." He replied.

"Or we could always go to Denmark. My fiancee is there, he could help us out." She dug the soil with her fingernails.

"But Italy would be much quicker, plus there's probably constables in Denmark as well." He said.

"Yeah…" Charisma stayed silent. "...so are we going to Italy?"

"Sounds like a plan to me." Phantom R layed back down.

"Alright! I've always wanted to go to Italy!" She squealed.

"Don't get too excited. We need to find a way to cross The Aegean Sea and get there first." Phantom R said.

"We'll leave that for tomorrow though." She yawned and turned over. "Hey Raphael?"

Phantom R closed his eyes. "Yeah?" He said sleepily.

"If the proposal doesn't go well I'll give the ring to you okay? I think it would really suit her since she has a sapphire necklace." Charisma went to sleep.

Phantom R opened his eyes. "What did you just say?!" But she had already gone to sleep. Phantom R turned over while Fondue curled up next to him and whined.

"Don't worry boy, we'll be in Italy soon…" He was about to say something else but sleep took him away before he could get the words out of his mouth.

**End of Chapter 7**


	8. Chapter 8: Lustful Desires

There seemed to be a campfire burning when Phantom R woke up. He looked up at the sky, it was a calm orange with clouds dusted all over and a clear blue sky underneath. You could have said it was beautiful, but Phantom R was not a man who just used normal words to describe something. Sometimes something is so beautiful that there are no words in the dictionary to describe it, that was this sunrise. Too beautiful and mesmerizing to form into words. Charisma suddenly came out of the bushes carrying a handful of berries in her hand.

Charisma noticed that Phantom R was awake and smiled at him. "Good morning, Raphael."

"You brought breakfast?" Phantom R stretched.

"Yes. These are juniper berries. They're not the poisonous type so you're safe to eat them." She let them roll off her hands and onto the ground.

Phantom R picked one up and ate it. He chewed on it for a while. Suddenly, he stiffened and spat it back out. "Ah! That's too sour!" He coughed.

Charisma laughed. "Naturally juniper berries are sour since they're normally used in fine meals and foods."

Phantom R wiped his mouth and looked around. Green bushes surrounded him in the clearing that he had stumbled into last night. It was hard to believe that constables on their trail and a friend lost all happened in one night. Michel….

Phantom R sighed. Michel bravely gave up his life just so they could escape. Phantom R suddenly stopped. Something wasn't right. "Where's Cleo?"

Charisma was about to tell him when a scream echoed through the forest. There was no clear mistake, that was Cleo.

Phantom R quickly got up. "Cleo!" He shouted. He furiously shoved the branches out of the way and ran through the forest. With the orange sky painting the forest with it's bright colours, Phantom R felt more tensed by it than welcomed to a new day. He kept calling Cleo's name but was only replied with screams and shouts. The screams seemed to be coming from a willow tree up ahead of Phantom R, the moment he got to the trunk of it the screaming stopped.

"C-Cleo…?" He looked around but she was no where in sight. "...no...no...No! No! No!" He held his head.

Charisma had followed him. "Have you found Cleo?" She asked worriedly.

"I...heard her screaming coming from up this willow tree but when I got to the base of it…..the screaming stopped.." He punched the tree angrily. "If something's happened to her…!"

"Hey! Watch where you punch young man!"

Phantom R stared at the base of the tree for a second and then slowly lifted his head up. The wind blew through his hair, sending a shiver down his back. "W-What? Did the tree just…..talk?" He turned to Charisma for answers but she was gone. Now this was getting freaky, was the tree abducting people left and right?

"Are you cold?" He felt something wrap around him. He looked down, leaves. He turned to face the tree and gasped. The tree had the face of a young woman on it. He pulled away from the leaves around him. "W-Who are yo-" The leaves wrapped around his mouth and the rest of his body. They picked him up and put him up close to the woman in the tree.

"My name is Daphne. Not the laurel tree one, I'm a different Daphne." She lowered her leaves away from his mouth so he could speak.

Phantom R didn't know whether to be afraid or confused. He swallowed sharply. "Where...are my friends?"

Daphne pulled a puzzled face. "You mean the one with the blue fedora, the one with the weird hair colour and the dog?"

Phantom R was confused, then he looked on the ground and noticed that Fondue was gone. "Yes!" He said angrily. He struggled and pulled. "L-Let me go!"

Daphne stroked his cheek. "Calm yourself, young man. You'll only hurt yourself.." She tightened her leaves around his stomach.

He couldn't breathe. He opened one eye at her. "S….Stop….it…!" He could feel his body going out of consciousness. "L…...Look! I'm…...looking..for…...some….pendants..that represent….the seven…..deadly...sins! P-Please…...let...me…...go….so…..I….can….fin...d…...them..!" Phantom R was close to passing out.

Daphne tsked at him. "You're so weak.." She dropped him onto the floor.

Phantom R hacked and coughed loudly. He gasped in some air. "T-Thank you…" He stood up. "Now…..where are my friends?!"

"I don't know. But the spirits of the land can tell you."

Phantom R looked around. "Spirits..?"

Daphne sighed. "They're not visible you dunce! You can only feel their presence."

He crossed his arms. "Okay….so what kind of spirits are they?"

Daphne scoffed. "Seriously?" His glare made her continue on. "There's only three spirits. The spirit of the air.." Phantom R felt something latch onto him and whisper into his ear. He spun round but saw nothing. "..The spirit of the water.." The pond water near him swirled around, you could barely make out the words it was saying. "...and the spirit of the earth.." Something made a mark in the soil below him, it looked like something was sitting there.

The wind blew calmly through the leaves revealing a brilliant sunshine. Some brightly coloured leaves came down and went round Phantom R. "What is this? Pocahontas?"

Daphne growled. "No! The spirits are trying to talk to you!"

"How do I talk to them?" Phantom R asked.

"You don't! You just listen to them. Close your eyes and be oblivious to all that's happening around you."

Phantom R raised his eyebrows at this. But he sighed and closed his eyes.

He heard the wind whistling through the trees and blowing gently through his hair. Then a hymn was being sung into his ear, he still kept his eyes closed. Something was holding his hand now, he didn't dare open his eyes to look. A whisper echoed in his ear. '_What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet' _

"Raphael!"

His eyes flew open, and the wind in the trees stopped dead. "Cleo?"

"Raphael!" The voice called again.

"Cleo!" He started to climb the tree and noticed that the face had gone. He looked at it, puzzled, and then continued climbing. He swung across many branches and leaves, worried for Cleo and Charisma's safety. Then, as if they had just appeared before him, there was Cleo and Charisma perched on a branch.

They turned around. "Oh hey there Raphael! Have you seen the view here? It's really beautiful!" Cleo said.

Phantom R stared at Cleo, astonished. He took two steps towards her to see if she was real, then tears started to roll down his face and he pulled Cleo into a hug.

"R-Raphael?!" Cleo said, startled.

Phantom R put his finger on Cleo's lip as the tears kept rolling down his cheeks. "Please…..don't ever disappear on me like that again…" He sounded like he was trying to hold them back.

"Hey, what's wrong?!" She wiped a tear off his cheek. "Were you that worried?"

"Yes!" He yelled. "I thought you might have been harmed or something!"

Cleo pulled a puzzled look at him. "No….I just got hoisted up this tree by….something.."

Charisma waved her arms. "Leaves! It was leaves!"

Cleo looked at Charisma with concern in her face. "I think Charisma has gone insane…"

Charisma did look like she had completely lost it. Her wild eyes and pink hair sticking up in many places made her look like a mad person.

Phantom R calmed her down. "Hey take it easy. The tree won't try to abduct you anymore."

Charisma was still shaking. "O-Okay. I think I'm calm now."

Cleo looked out at the view. "Hey look!" She pointed.

Phantom R and Charisma came over. There was a cruise parked about 7 miles from here and it was a pretty big one at that.

"That could take us to Italy!" Phantom R exclaimed.

Cleo started to climb down. "Come on guys! It might leave!"

Phantom R nodded and helped Charisma down from the tree. Fondue was strangely on the ground waiting for them, Phantom R didn't question it. They ran through the forest with tremendous speed, if they missed this boat then they didn't know what they would do. At the pier people were crowding around the boat, eager to get in.

"I don't know how we're going to get in here." Phantom R said.

"Maybe we can sneak aboard?" Cleo pointed to an open gap between the guards.

"Fat chance. Those guards can take someone out in a second." As Charisma said this one of the guards took a passenger trying to board the ship and tossed him into the sea. The three of them gulped.

"Maybe we should rethink this…" Phantom R was sweating.

The guards spotted the group and came up to them. "Hey, what do you think you're doing here?" One of them said gruffly.

Cleo was shaking. "O-Oh um…"

The other guard grabbed her arm. "Are you here to just stand around?"

"I-I…" Cleo shook her head.

"You look very suspicious…" The guard said to Phantom R.

"What? I do?" He answered back.

"Could you be-" The guard started.

"Let them go, they're with me."

The two guards turned around to where the voice was coming from, and saw a young girl in a pink dress. "Miss Vergier!" The two of them cried.

"Charlotte!" Phantom R said.

"What's wrong with you two? Have you lost all common sense?" Charlotte snapped.

The guard that was holding Cleo let her go and bowed his head. "I'm sorry Miss Vergier, I didn't realise they were with you."

"Next time bring them to me and I'll tell you if they're with me or not." Charlotte put her hand on her head.

The guards both nodded and glumly walked off back to their post.

She turned to Phantom R "Be a bit more careful around these parts. I may be helping you but if a constable spots you, then you're on your own."

"Got it." He held his fedora on his head. "Thanks Charlotte, we would have been goners if you didn't step in."

"Yeah yeah yeah, whatever, leave the thanks for later." She muttered.

"Aw come on Charlotte. What's wrong with a little praise?" He came up to her and ruffled her hair.

Charlotte angrily pushed him away. "Stop it! Do you want a black eye mate?"

Phantom R laughed. "Alright, alright. Excuse me your majesty, I didn't know I was dealing with royalty."

"I don't think you should joke around with her like this…." Cleo said, worried look on her face. "She is trying to help us after all."

"Don't worry, I can take it. As long as he doesn't say anything stupid…" She stared daggers into Phantom R, which made him quit the joking and actually be serious for once.

"Okay, okay. All joking aside, does this cruise go to Italy?" He pointed at the boat in front of him.

Charlotte looked at the cruise. "Oh yeah, that's going to Italy. We needed more constables there which is why they're sending me to scout out the area first."

"Aw man.." Phantom R muttered.

"Oh, you expected your trip to be carefree and easy?" She smirked at him.

He smiled back at her. "Not really, but I know that my work is going to be cut out for me."

"I…..don't really want to be hunted down by police if I'm being honest.." Charisma shuffled about nervously.

Cleo chuckled. "Oh come on, relax. I live for danger and adventure!" She pumped her fist.

"But how are we going to evade them?" Charisma said nervously.

"Just sneak past them!" Cleo answered.

"But what if there's nothing to use for sneaking?"

"Climb onto the roofs and jump across them!"

"But what if we're in a narrow alley way?"

"Use the bins!"

"But what if there are no bins?"

"Run for your freaking life down the alley way!"

"But what if there's a dead end?"

"Climb over it!"

"But what if they grab my leg and maybe tear part of my skirt off?"

The three of them stared at Charisma. Cleo narrowed her eyes and put her face up to hers. "...Beat. Them. Up." She whispered.

Charisma hadn't even realised what she said. She stared at her.

Phantom R swallowed. "Shouldn't we…..get onto the boat now?" He pointed at it nervously.

Cleo took a step back from Charisma and sighed. "Yeah….."

Charlotte led them on board. Gold and copper decorated the hallways with gleaming light. And the windows paved way to a beautiful ocean view of the Aegean Sea, that shined with clear aqua blue in the sun. The red soft carpet below their feet was massagingly smooth on Fondue's tiny paws. Charlotte showed them to their rooms, the doors to them were embodied with gold ivy branches and read the number '_666_'. They cautiously went inside.

The room didn't look that suspicious, it looked like a normal room with a double bed, a bathroom, a coffee maker, a drawer with a mirror, everything looked normal and in order. But the thing that caught everyone's eye was the painting above the double bed. What was on the painting was a man with auburn hair with a purple toga wrapped tightly around him, the man was gazing at a golden statue holding a small bag of money in it's hand. The statue was probably a man too but the painting only went up to the statue's lips and part of it's nose, so you couldn't see it's entire face.

Phantom R read the plate beneath the painting. "The Worship of Mammon huh?"

"I think Mammon was the demon of greed." Charisma said.

Phantom R turned around. "So does that mean…..that the pendant of greed is on this ship?"

"Could be." Cleo shrugged.

"Is that what you're after then?" Charlotte cut in. "A bunch of pendants?"

"Not just a bunch of pendants. We're looking for pendants that represent the seven deadly sins." Phantom R jumped off of the bed.

Charlotte brought out a picture. "You mean the ones that fit in these slots?" She showed him a picture of the slots that they had uncovered below Les Invalides.

"Yep. Those are the ones." He said.

Charlotte tsked. "You should let me find them. It could be dangerous for you."

"Dangerous? You're-" Then he stopped and stared at her. "Wait what?"

Charlotte's eyes widened and she blushed. "U-Um….I-I.."

Phantom R blinked. "You…..actually care about me?"

She shook her head furiously. "No! I just….don't want you to get hurt.." She chewed on her thumb while staring down at the floor.

"You care about me…"

"No I don't! I just-"

He came up to her and took her hands. "It's okay to admit it you know."

"No no no no! Look Phantom R I-" He embraced her. Charlotte froze, with her eyes staring at the man who was hugging her and her hands spread out wide.

"It's okay." He whispered.

Charlotte shoved him away. "Get away from me you uncivilized scoundrel!" She stormed off and slammed the door shut behind her. Outside, you could hear her weeping softly as she ran off.

When the weeping ceased Cleo and Charisma stared at Phantom R. He stared back at them, his eyes wide. "I…..I...didn't mean to make her storm off like that…" He bit his lip. "I just wanted...to assure her that it was okay…"

Cleo put her hand on his shoulder. "Though hugging her was probably not the best way to show it."

Phantom R brushed his hair aside but still left the red curl on his forehead. "I thought that...because she was my friend..she would be okay with it.."

"Maybe I would be okay with that kind of stuff but Charlotte…" Cleo shook her head. "Charlotte is not exactly as close to you as me."

He stayed silent. His hand held his shoulder tightly. Fondue whined and wagged his tail at him. "..Not now Fondue.." He said.

It took Phantom R ages to get over the fact that had upset Charlotte. The rest of the day he was melancholic and bitter, he didn't even play or talk with Cleo. First Marie and now Charlotte, hopefully Charisma or Cleo didn't disappear from him next. Phantom R was that kind of man who got upset over losing friends easily, especially Michel. But Michel was willing to sacrifice himself, so Phantom R didn't blame himself for that.

It was now night time, and the moon was hanging over the Aegean Sea. The cruise had already set off so there was no going back to Athens now. Charisma was snoring loudly while Cleo was reading a book. 'The Tempest' It was called. Phantom R was still in his suit and tie, he didn't feel like going to sleep just yet.

Cleo turned the light off. "Don't worry, I'm sure Charlotte forgives you."

"Hopefully.." Phantom R replied with melancholy in his voice.

"Try to get some sleep soon. We've a busy day in Italy tomorrow." Cleo turned over and went to sleep.

Phantom R sighed and laid back. Doubt was clouding his mind, would Charlotte ever forgive him? After he just hugged her out of the blue she probably thought he was some sort of creep. Cleo didn't seem to be afraid of him when she first saw him and Charisma seemed okay with him, but Charlotte. Charlotte was something different. He shook his head, Marie was his crush wasn't she? Didn't he love Marie? It was all so confusing. He didn't know who he loved, maybe he loved no one. Maybe he was just overthinking it.

He was about to hit the hay when suddenly, something caught his eye. Pale blue smoke. He sat up and turned his head to get a better look at it. It whirled around the room and went around him, tying around his body like a snake. He wafted it away and stood up. The smoke wasn't coming from anywhere in the room, not even the painting. The moonlight eluminated the room with it's pale white light, however it was still dark. Suddenly, a ghostly woman appeared before him. He jumped back and landed on the bed. The woman, who was made of the pale blue smoke, strode up towards him and helped him back onto his feet.

"W-Who...are...y-" Before he could finish his sentence the woman put her hands on both his cheeks. Her hands were cold, it felt like an ice block was touching his cheeks. She stared into his eyes. He didn't know why, but he felt weak. What he couldn't see was that the same colour smoke was entering his eyes, covering his pupils and making him entranced. He saw a different person standing before him now. With her red flowing hair and warm smile, his mother.

"M-Mom?" He whispered.

She said nothing and walked out the room.

"W-Wait..!" He stumbled and clutched his chest. Whatever it was had poisoned his heart to love nothing, only to yearn. He shakily stood back up and opened the door. The hallway was strangely dark, but Phantom R didn't care, he only wanted his mother. Up ahead, the woman turned a corner. "C-Come….back..!" His moonlight coloured eyes were the only things to be seen in the darkness, he limped after the woman. Fondue whined and pulled on his trouser leg. "L-Let….go...Fondue…!" He kicked the dog away. His chest was in excruciating pain, but he kept going after the woman. He slowly limped up the hall. Fondue barked at him but he didn't pay attention. Fondue knew what to do. He ran back into the room and onto the bed, he licked Cleo to wake her up. Something was wrong with Phantom R and he knew it. Cleo slowly opened her eyes.

"Fondue…..stop…" She pushed him away.

The dog kept barking furiously at her. Cleo stretched and yawned. "What would Raphael say to this? I think I'll- Raphael?"

She looked at the spot where Raphael was and her heart stopped. "Fondue? Where's Raphael gone?"

Fondue ran to the door and barked at it. "Out there? B-But why?"

A shout came from down the corridor. Something like: 'H-Hey…..come...back…!'. Cleo got out of bed quickly, her short hair in a messy tangle. "Raphael!" She put on her fedora and ran out after him, Fondue followed after her.

The deck was dark with very little lighting. Deck chairs were perched beside a big pool and a hot tub, though both were closed for the night. The ghostly woman was floating around the edge of the deck, she looked out at the ocean with only the rail fence stopping her from jumping. Phantom R opened the door to the deck and saw the woman there. "T-There...you...are…" He held the fence and went slowly towards her, weakened and exhausted. The woman looked at him and waited for him to come to her. When he finally did she hugged him and kissed his forehead. "M-Mom…" He whispered. The woman got on top of the railing and dived into the open sea, she looked fine but if Phantom R did the same he would most likely be killed. He was still under her trance, the smoke still ruling over his natural brown eyes. "D-Don't...worry..mom. I'm…..coming…!" He was about to get on top of the fence when suddenly something tackled him to the ground, it was Cleo.

"Raphael! Don't!" She cried.

"G-Get….away...from...me..!" He sharply elbowed her away.

Cleo stumbled and fell to the ground, but she wasn't ready to give up just yet. She got back onto her feet and put him into an arm hold. "Stop Raphael! She's not real! She's just an illusion!"

"N-No….she's...not…!" He tried to struggle out of her grip.

Cleo flipped him over and pinned him to the ground. "Snap out of it! You're being possessed by lust!"

Phantom R went to punch her but he was too weak to do so. "Why….won't...you...let...me...be…..with...my….mom..?!"

"Please Raphael!" Cleo teared up.

"Just….let…..go..of...me…!" His voice was so quiet, the poison in his heart was killing him inside.

Cleo, as a last resort, closed her eyes and kissed cheek. Phantom R stopped struggling. He felt surprised and happy at the same time. It felt like the poison in his chest was turning into heartwarming liquid gold. He hugged her blissfully and the smoke cleared, revealing his beautiful tanned brown eyes. "Hey….are you okay?"

Cleo gasped and looked at him, he was back to normal. "Oh….Raphael!" She hugged him again, but a bit more tightly this time. "You're back!"

He smiled at her. "I guess….I was overcome with lust. I wanted to be with my Mom so much that I didn't even think about my life or my friends." He patted her on the back. "Thanks for getting me back to my senses."

Charlotte came out onto the deck, in her pink dressing gown and slippers. "What on earth is-" She saw them both hugging eachother. "I'm…...not even going to ask…" She went back inside and closed the door.

Phantom R scoffed. "Typical Charlotte."

Cleo giggled and stared into his eyes. A brown colour that shined in the moonlight, much better than that misty blue. "You know Raphael." She said. "I'm glad I have a friend like you."

"I'm glad too." He replied. And they hugged again for a while.

Say what you will, but a friendship that strong never dies. You can never separate a bond that strong, not even with harsh criticism or rumors as scissors. Though they may argue with each other they do it because they care about each other. One wants to do something and the other doesn't want them to do it because they think they'll get hurt by it. Arguing and disagreeing with each other isn't a bad sign, it's a sign of true love.

After a while the two of them got back up and headed back to their room. Hopefully everything would be running smoothly tomorrow when they got to Italy. Hopefully no one would jump them and attack them. It's Italy isn't it? Who would be after them there?

Well, there is one person…

**End of Chapter 8**


	9. Chapter 9: Arriving in Italy

**I'm glad you guys are liking this story so far! I thought it would fall flat because of the spelling mistakes and missing words (I'm autistic so I normally forget to type words such as 'the' and 'of'). Plus I usually have to check some words that I type to see if they make sense, I'm never sure with myself! It's terrible! But anyway, enough of me, let's continue this story.**

Phantom R woke up with a sharp headache. Maybe it was something to do with the woman from last night? He didn't know. He got some tap water and chugged it down, it helped the headache a little bit but it didn't make it go away. Cleo was up and making some hot chocolate, she ripped open the packet and poured it into the steamy water. The spoon she was using was strangely a really big one, it was bigger than a tablespoon.

Cleo looked at him. "What? It was the only spoon I could find."

"I wasn't going to question it." Phantom R said.

Cleo studied him. "Were you seriously that lazy to not change out of your suit and tie?"

Phantom R hadn't had even noticed that he was still in his suit. His fedora was still perched on his head and his tie was still snappily around his neck. "I must have crashed out before I could change."

Cleo shrugged. "Well I can't really blame you for that."

He saw that the spot where Charisma was sleeping and saw the covers crunched up and messy. "Where's Charisma?"

"Went to get breakfast. Apparently-"

Before she could finish Charisma burst into the room. She was carrying a tray with orange juice, bacon, eggs, cereal, muffins, sausages and toast. "~Breakfast is heeerrrreeee!~" She sung in a high tone.

Cleo jumped back. "WOAH! Jeez! You don't have to break the door down like a barbarian!" Her hot chocolate spilled over and the china mug it was in fell on the floor and smashed to pieces. "Ohh! Now look what you've done!" She kneeled down and picked up the pieces of china.

Charisma hid behind the tray. "Sorry…..but breakfast is an important part of the day."

"Yeah? Well my hot chocolate was an important part of the day." She cut herself on a sharp china piece. "Ow!" She sucked on her finger.

Phantom R kneeled down beside her and took her finger out of her mouth. "It's only a little cut. It'll heal."

"Yeah? Well it hurt." Cleo took her finger away from him.

"I know. Just like paper cuts right?" He said.

Charisma was already digging into breakfast. She took a bite out of her toast. "This isn't going to be here forever! Quickly tuck in before I eat it all!"

"Hey! Let me at least have a muffin!" Cleo lept up and headed for the tray.

"Don't forget about me too!" Phantom R pleaded and went for the tray.

Though Charisma ate most of the food Cleo and Phantom R got a fair share of it too. Cleo only went for the bacon and the muffins while Phantom R had some toast. He had just smeared some butter on it when there was a soft knock on the door. Opening it, he found Charlie in her normal getup.

"Hi there.." He said with a swallow.

Charlie shifted her brown waistcoat. "Hello, Phantom R."

He moved his eyes around the corridor. "Ummm….do you want to come in or..?"

"I want to talk to you. Meet me on the deck, now." She walked off, holding her brown cap on her head.

Phantom R followed her out onto the deck. She was leaning against the railing and watching the ocean. He walked up to her. "So what's up?" He said to her, which startled her at first.

"U-Um….ahem. Well do you remember when you first found out I was a girl?" She ran her finger along the railing.

"Yeah. You looked really cute in that dress." He winked at her.

"S-Shut up." She blushed a little bit. "My father's not very happy about that to say the least."

"That I discovered that you're a girl? That man's too strict, don't pay attention to him Charlotte." He put his arm around her shoulder.

She didn't push his arm away, she bit her thumb and stayed quiet. "You know what Phantom R? You're a pretty okay guy."

"I am?" He laughed quietly. "Well that's something new from you."

"Well, I've changed since that incident with those gardens nearly destroying Paris." She came closer to him.

He was blushing awkwardly. "U-Um…..Charlie?"

She held his cheek with her hand. "What's wrong?"

"W-Well…..this is kinda awkward. And if any constables see us, I'm dead." Redness spread across his face.

"Don't worry we'll be fine. I just want one thing from you." Charlie was also blushing.

"What do you want from me?" He asked.

Charlie looked at him for a minute, and then pressed her lips against his. His eyes went wider and his face went redder. He stared at the girl who was kissing him, her young face shining in the sunlight. After a while she gently took her lips away from his, making a small popping noise as she did. Phantom R's face was bright red, with not a pale part of skin in sight.

She put her finger on his lips. "Tell no one of this." Then she went inside and shut the door behind her without a second glance.

He stood there, confused and embarrassed before going back inside, staying silent.

Cleo and Charisma were looking out the window and watching the sea when Phantom R came back in. He was still red all over his face. "Hey are you alright Raphael?" Cleo came up to him and touched his cheek.

He brushed her hand away. "I-I'm fine.." He looked away from her.

Charsima squealed. "Oh oh oh! I know this emotion! You're blushing aren't you?"

"No! I….umm.." He couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Are you in love with someone Raphael?" Cleo came up close to him.

"Who? Me? No of course not! Why would I be in love with someone?!" He tried to cover it up but it was no use.

Cleo her hands on her hips. "Don't try and hide it from me, I know you're in love with someone." She pulled his tie which brought him closer to her. "Now who is it?"

"Um….uhhh…" He was sweating bullets right now. "S-Say we need to look for that cure for Marie. Remember?"

Cleo stared at him and then let him go. "I suppose so, we had no luck in Greece."

"But we didn't even check anywhere." Phantom R said.

"I asked Charisma to. She said she found nothing." Cleo replied.

Charisma nodded. "My results were not of any use to your investigation."

Phantom R sighed. "Thanks for checking anyway Charisma."

Fondue sniffed around the room for any crumbs of toast but sadly didn't find any. He whined.

"Don't worry Fondue, we'll find you something to eat." He kneeled down and stroked the dog.

Charisma pointed out the window. "Look! We're coming into port!"

Upon looking out the window they saw that Charisma was indeed right. Boats were dotted everywhere on the sea, they were mostly small boats or fishing boats. And looking out further you could see a big harbour, filled with boats and people who were mostly sailors. Everything looked so colourful and grand, it was definitely welcoming.

Cleo gasped. "This. Looks. Awesome!"

"Well the Italians certainly know how to greet tourists." Phantom R said.

"Come on guys let's go!" Cleo dashed out of the room.

"Hey! Cleo wait! They haven't even stopped the boat yet!" He ran after her.

The harbour was bustling with people, merchants from across the sea came and set up shop in the harbour. Fondue almost got lost in the crowd by how many italians and other people from around the world there were.

Charlie stepped off and breathed in. She came up to the group.

"Welcome to Rome, my friends." She said in a proud voice.

"Looks pretty busy. I wonder if there's something going on?" Cleo wondered.

"There's something going on alright. Tomorrow night is the Adessi's masquerade ball. Bibiana Adessi was a friend of my father's. They still keep in touch but don't talk much to each other." Charlie folded her arms.

Phantom R twirled his finger around. "So are we staying anywhere in Rome for the night?"

Charlie nodded. "Yes, follow me and I'll show you."

As they walked through the city Phantom R could still see the old Roman empire through the new buildings placed along it. It was probably because his father had educated him on the Roman empire when he was younger, he didn't understand it then because of his age but it was saved in his head just in case. They went past some painters that were painting a building in different colours.

Suddenly something spilled and Charisma screamed. Everyone stopped to look at her and found her holding her cheek.

"Are you okay Charisma?" Phantom R asked.

"Y-Yeah! Some paint just spilled down and got onto my cheek." She was holding it tightly.

Phantom R cocked his eyebrow at her. "Are you sure? You don't want me to look at it?"

"No no no! I'm perfectly fine!" Charisma backed away from him.

This was some weird behavior coming from Charisma. Phantom R didn't want to stress her out more though. "Okay if you say so."

Upon arriving at the hotel Charisma had calmed down massively and was back in her high spirits. Though she was still holding her cheek.

Once they got into the hotel room Charisma opened a little box and took out a plaster. She gently placed it onto her cheek.

"Oh did you get hurt?" Phantom R came over to her.

Charisma turned around. "Yeah. It's only a small cut though."

Phantom R shrugged. "Okay."

They didn't have unpack anything since they didn't have a suitcase with them. So they just took their shoes off and relaxed on the bed with the commotion of Rome beneath them. The bed they were lying on was a double bed so they all had to share it together. Charisma didn't mind where she slept so she slept on the left side of the bed, Cleo slept in the middle and Phantom R slept on the right side. With their positions in the bed sorted Cleo turned on the TV and laid back.

Phantom R decided to have a bath to clear his head, maybe he would be able to find out where this next pendant was. Fondue went to sit on the bed and wagged his tail happily at him.

"I'm just going to have a bath, I'll be out soon okay?" He closed the door.

He took off his fedora and put it on the toilet seat, then he took off his jacket and shirt. He stared into the mirror.

"I look awful. Maybe it's because of all that running from the constables." He ruffled his hair.

After the running the bath he took the rest of his clothes off and got in. He relaxed and breathed in the bath steam. It had been a while since he could relax like this with no constables on his tail or the fear of being discovered, it felt perfect. He suddenly realised how tired he felt, his body felt weak and free of any energy. He could drift off at any moment, his eyes were slowly closing. He was about to go to sleep when suddenly Charisma burst into the bathroom. He sat up quickly.

Charisma stared at Raphael and then an awkward smile spread across her face. "S-Sorry but...umm...can I get in with you?"

He didn't really know what to say, he couldn't turn her away but he couldn't really have her in the bath with him. "...S-Sure..?" He said with no thought.

Charisma told him to look away while she was getting undressed and he did so. Why did he say she could come in?! This was going to be so awkward.

Charisma jumped into the bath, her pink hair was covering her chest. "It's okay you can look now."

He turned to look at her. "Oh wow.." He muttered.

Charisma giggled. "Do you like what you see?"

"No no no! I'm not that kind of person!" He tried to look away but Charisma was holding his chin.

She put her face up to his. "You have beautiful brown eyes." She said. "What do you think of mine?"

He was indefinitely lost for words right now. She was acting a lot weirder than a few moments ago. "U-Ummm…...they're really bright."

She laughed. "I like you." She went for his lips.

He violently pushed her away. Charisma looked at him in shock. "Stop it! What's wrong with you?!" He shouted.

Charisma kept staring at him. Raphael kept using the same tone. "And aren't you already engaged to someone? You can't cheat on him like this!"

Charisma looked at Raphael, tears filled her eyes and she turned away. She got out of the bath and put a towel around her, then she went out and closed the door softly. Raphael had felt that he had hurt the poor girl's feelings but she did get into his personal space so she needed to be reminded.

Raphael dried off his hair and wrapped a towel around him. He put his glasses on and went out the bathroom. Fondue was curled up on the floor, Cleo was surfing the TV universe and Charisma was buried under her part of the bed. He sat down and combed through his hair.

Cleo turned off the TV. "I can't understand any of this italian blabber."

"You should probably look through the options for subtitles." Raphael suggested.

"Nah, I can't be bothered." She got into bed. "Man I feel tired already."

"Yeah me too. Just let me get my pajamas on and then I can go to sleep." He went back into the bathroom. After buttoning up his pajama shirt he hopped into the bed and pulled the covers over.

"Hold on. I thought you left those pajamas back in Paris." Cleo pointed to his blue pajamas he was wearing.

He winked at her. "I have my ways."

Cleo giggled and then turned over. "Hey Raphael?"

"Yeah?" He whispered.

"I...I think there are two pendants here in Italy."

"What?"

"Yeah. Pretty surprising huh?"

"Which pendants are in this country?"

"The pendant of Gluttony and the pendant of Sloth."

"Do you know where they are?"

Cleo yawned. "No….but we can look tomorrow." She went to sleep.

Raphael nodded. Tomorrow was a good time to start looking for these necklaces. Without taking his glasses off, he fell asleep while cuddling Cleo.

**End of Chapter 9**


	10. Chapter 10: Another Comrade

Fire. That was all Raphael could see. Flames engulfing the room and licking his skin. Was the hotel on fire? He thought. He got up quickly and searched for Cleo and Charisma, then he saw them. Both dead, and their bodies were being held by a mysterious woman.

"Cleo?! Charisma?! No…..No! NO!" He kneeled down and started crying. Both his friends were now dead and there was no way to get them back.

The woman kicked him in the head and paralyzed him. Then she left out the window. Raphael called out for Fondue, anyone, to come and save him. But nobody came, and he was left to burn alive in the flaming hotel. He screamed.

"Raphael?!" He didn't take notice of the voice he kept screaming his lungs out.

"Raphael are you okay?" He was starting to cry now, his screams came out as nothing more than hurt sobs.

"HEY!" A male voice shouted. Raphael opened his eyes and sat up quickly. He was in the hotel room but…..it wasn't on fire? He looked at the people surrounding him. There was Cleo and Charisma, very much alive. But there was…...a man in the room with him, a man he had never seen before.

He had blonde hair that was sticking up and small blue eyes with square black glasses, making him look as geeky as Emile. He wore a grey sweater vest with a black tie and a white shirt underneath. The trousers were the same grey colour and his shoes were black and formal looking. He must be rich if he was dressing this formally.

The man checked Raphael, studying his face and everything. "I think he just had a nightmare."

"He's going to be okay isn't he?" Cleo said.

"Should be, dreams are just dreams." The man got off the bed.

Charisma took Raphael's cheeks. "Awww, poor Raphael." She rubbed them with her hands.

Raphael pushed her away. "Don't do that."

The man was about to leave but he stopped and turned around. "Excuse me, but did I overhear you talking about some pendants?"

Cleo nodded. Yeah, why? Is it important?"

"It most certainly is, young lady. I've been looking for something to study for months now!" He stretched. "I've come here from Sweden, my home country, to study the Sistine Chapel. Though, to be honest, it doesn't look that interesting."

Charisma got out the pendant of Pride from her pocket. "We're looking for these pendants. They're supposed to represent the seven deadly sins."

The man took it into his hands and looked at it. "I'm guessing this represents Vanity or Pride as it's most commonly known. Interesting…" He gave it back to Charisma. "If you don't mind, I'd like to join your search for these pendants. I'm quite brainy and I've invented a few things with my own hands." He showed two robotic bracelets on each of his wrists. He pressed a button on both of them and they expanded onto his hands, creating slightly bigger robot hands. "I use these whenever someone tries to pick a fight with me, they can be loaded with bullets too."

Cleo touched the hands in shock. "These look so awesome!" She squealed. "And you invented these?!"

"Yep, all by myself. I'm pretty clever like that." He said.

Raphael got out of the bed, he had recovered from the nightmare now. Without anyone looking, he slipped into the bathroom to get dressed.

Charisma leapt forward and took the man's hand. "Oh please come with us! We could use someone like you on our side!"

The man smiled and nodded. "I will certainly join you. I'm intrigued by these pendants myself."

"Hold up." Cleo came up to the man. "What's your name?"

"Do you want my full name or my first name?" He asked.

"First name." Cleo replied.

"Hans." He said.

Charisma cuddled him. "Hans…...what a wonderful name."

Hans laughed nervously. "T-Thank you. What's your name?"

"I'm Charisma, and this is Cleo." She pointed to Cleo.

"Sup?" Cleo said.

"What about that man in the bed? What was his name?" Hans looked around for Raphael.

Suddenly, the bathroom door was kicked open. A huge smog of steam came piling out. A mysterious figure came out and was masked by the fog. "If you want my real name, then it's Raphael." A dog came out and barked at Hans. "But…..if you want my professional name.." He stepped out of the steam revealing himself in his Phantom R suit. Fondue followed him. "Then it's Phantom R."

Hans stared at the man in the suit in front of him. "Y-You're Phantom R? You mean _that_ Phantom R?"

"Yep." Phantom R smirked at Hans.

Han gulped. "Well h-hello there Phantom R. I-It's nice to meet you." He backed away a little bit.

Phantom R laughed. He loved it when people were afraid of him or expecting him to capture them and take them back to his 'secret hideout'. "Hey come on, there's no need to be afraid of me."

Hans kept his distance. "You'd kidnap me if I went to report the police about you."

"Nah. I might try to persuade you not to but if it comes to it then…..yeah, I would knock you out and then kidnap you." Phantom R flexed his muscles. "But it won't get to that point now, will it?"

Hans shook his head. "No no of course not. I'm trying to find the pendants with you anyway. So I won't go to the _polizia_"

"The what now?" Phantom R cocked his head.

"It's Italian for police." Hans said. His glasses were falling off so he pushed them back up to his eyes.

Cleo rubbed her hands together in a 'I'm ready' way. "So, shall we be off then?"

"But what about breakfast?" Charisma said.

Hans opened up a map on his phone. "We can grab something to eat as we walk through Rome. There's plenty of food shops."

"Sounds like my kind of plan!" Then Cleo paused. "Hold on, where are we going?"

"We could start at The Sistine Chapel. I'm supposed to be studying it for a college project." Hans brought up The Sistine Chapel on his phone. Phantom R wished he could do that. He wanted a cool phone where he could see where he was and show off fancy pictures of places to everyone. You could say that Phantom R was envious, so envious that he might try to get rid of Hans, but no. There was someone in the group who was so green with envy that you could see it on their face. And that person wanted to be the most important part of Phantom R's life.

Hans was about to put his phone away when suddenly it started to ring. The contact was a blocked number so Hans didn't know who it was, but he answered it anyway. "Hello?" He said to the phone. The rest of the group could only hear murmuring from the other end of the line. Hans nodded and then turned to Phantom R. "It's for you. The girl says she knows you."

Phantom R took the phone and put it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Raphael! Oh my gosh I was worried about you!" It was Josette, Marie's closest friend.

"Josette? Is that you?" Phantom R expected Marie to be on the phone, not Josette.

"Yeah yeah, it's me." She cleared her throat. "Listen Raphael, I heard that you're currently looking for the cure for...uhh..Marie. Is that right?"

"Yeah that's right. Why are you wondering?"

"Okay. And you're going to have it here by next month right?"

"Next month? I don't know if I could…"

Josette went silent on the phone. Then a loud crashing noise emitted in the background followed by Josette's agitated screams. "YOU LISTEN HERE!" She yelled, it was like a banshee was talking to him. "YOU'D BETTER HAVE IT IN BY NEXT MONTH OR I'LL TEAR YOU APART!"

Phantom R took his ear away from the phone. "Calm down!" He shouted. "I don't KNOW where the cure is okay?! It's going to take a while for me to find it!"

Josette started crying on the other end of the line. "Don't you know how much she means to me?!" She was sobbing. "She's like a big sister to me! She may be my friend but I like her more than that."

"Josette I-" He stopped. "Wait, what are you implying Josette?"

She sniffled loudly. "I-I….I love her…"

Phantom R froze. Was he hearing this right? Josette 'loves' Marie? He thought Josette liked Marie as only a friend, not as a lover. Josette was more than met the eye, it just took a while for it to show. He breathed in and slowly breathed out. "Okay, I'll look harder for you."

Josette seized her sniffling. "Wait...what?"

"I understand how much she means to you. I…...I love her too…"

"Y-You do?"

"Yeah."

"You mean….girlfriend and boyfriend love?"

"Yeah."

"...But….we can't both have her, can we?"

"That's why I'm letting her be yours."

"R-Really?!"

"You've been with Marie longer than me, you deserve her more."

Josette squealed which made Phantom R take his ear away from the phone again. "Thank you so much! I'll repay you, I swear!" Josette let out a sigh of happiness. "This is great. I might go and-" Suddenly there was banging in the background. Phantom R could hear Josette start to panic.

"Josette? Are you okay?" Phantom R asked.

"I-I think it's them…" She said. Josette was breathing in and out frantically. "I….I think it's them!" She shouted.

Now Phantom R was deeply worried for her. "Who Josette?! Who is it?!"

The sound of a door bursting open echoed down the phone and Josette screamed. "NOOO! LEAVE ME ALONE! AHHHHHH!" Chairs were being knocked over and Josette continued to scream.

"Josette?! JOSETTE?!" Phantom R desperately called out to her.

Her screams were all he could hear. Suddenly a gunshot sounded and Josette went silent. Phantom R was about to call for her again but then someone picked up the phone and an eerily familiar voice spoke to him. "...I will catch you, Phantom R…" The phone was cut off and Phantom R was left, dazed and shocked.

He started shaking. Two friends were now gone, one a close friend of his and another a secret admirer of Marie. How many more were going to lose their lives?! He was starting to go insane.

"Are you okay?" Hans put his hand on Phantom R's shoulder. "We heard a lot of screaming coming from that phone."

Phantom R looked up at Hans with the eyes of someone who was in pain. "S-She….something happened to Josette.."

"What? What happened to Josette?" Hans asked.

Phantom R swallowed. "I-I…..I think she's dead.."

Silence spread across the room when he said this. Everyone staring at him, and blinking frantically. "D-Dead…? Why do you think that?" Hans broke the silence.

"I heard Josette scream. And then I heard a gunshot and Josette went silent." Phantom R held his arm.

Hans nodded. "I-I see. Who in their right mind would do that?"

"Inspector Vergier." Phantom R answered.

Hans stared at him. "The inspector?" He laughed nervously. "S-Surely the inspector wouldn't murder a citizen….right?"

"He murdered Michel..." Cleo looked pained as she remembered that dizzy haze of running and wheezing.

Hans looked confused. "But he's the inspector! He would never murder anyone unless it was in the name of progress!"

"His 'name of progress' is to get to me." Phantom R cut in. "He's been meaning to catch me for a long time now, I have yet to know the reason why."

Hans shook his head in disbelief. "If you're telling the truth, then what they've been saying about him in the news is a lie."

"It's not really surprising to me. They make me out like a ruffian when I'm really stealing the artworks for a different reason." Phantom R held his fedora on his head. "I hate the constabulary."

Cleo put her arm around his shoulders in a comforting way. "I think we all hate the constabulary."

Once again, the deadly silence spread across the room. Making the sounds outside the only ones to hear.

Charisma broke it. "Anyway, we need to head off to The Sistine Chapel." Everyone looked at her. "Hopefully we'll find one of the pendants." She walked out the door.

"She doesn't seem to care does she?" Cleo said. "Even when we were running away from the constables back in Greece she showed no signs of fear or remorse at all."

"Probably got nerves of steel." Hans spoke with the voice of a bold, brave man.

Phantom R shook his head. "Either way, we need to get these pendants. And the cure for Marie.." He gave Han's phone back to him. "I won't let Josette's death go in vain."

He swore this under the name of 'Phantom's Honor'. Which meant he would never let go of this promise until it was fulfilled, he had done the same when Marie and Elizabeth were kidnapped many months back, now he was promising a dead friend the safety of her crush, he couldn't fail her.

The shining light of the Italian sun blinded them for a few seconds but after they got used to it they headed off to The Sistine Chapel. Phantom R was in a melancholy mood for most of the way there, he kept looking around with a hurt expression on his face. Josette's death had really hit him where it hurt most, and he knew that.

"Hey come on Raphael, cheer up." Cleo nudged him.

Phantom R only silently sighed and continued walking.

Hans was looking around Rome. At all the gorgeous buildings, the mouth watering shops and the soothing perfume that dominated the air with it's sweet scent. "Hey…..have you ever seen Bugsy Malone?" Hans asked Phantom R

Phantom R looked up at him, his face still full of emotionless pain. "..Yeah...I've seen it. I loved it as a kid."

"All of us here as a group reminds me of Fat Sam's gang. You know the ones right?" Hans turned to Cleo and Charisma.

Cleo nodded. "Yep, I remember them. Though I don't remember their names."

"Look can we just stop talking about it!" Phantom R said in an annoyed tone. "We've just lost a friend and I don't know about you but I'm not in the mood for nostalgia."

Hans scoffed. "Well excuse me your highness."

"Oh so you just think you can go on and be happy after a friend of yours has just died?!" Phantom R calmed himself down. "You know what? If you love the movie that much then why don't you just go and reenact a scene from it?"

The three of them looked at each other and smirked. "Oh don't tell me…" Phantom R shook his head.

Hans took a black fedora off of someone's head and Charisma took a green fedora the same way. They both put them on their heads. "Yay! Now we're a fedora club!" Cleo put her arms around both of them.

Hans tapped his foot. "~We could have been anything that we wanted to be~" He sang.

Cleo knew this song, it was her favourite. "~But don't it make your heart glad~"

Charisma joined in as well. "~That we decided, a fact we take pride in~"

"~We became the best at being bad!~" They all sang together with their fedoras held high.

Phantom R didn't like this, at all. "Guys I-"

Cleo grabbed him. "~We could have been anything that we wanted to be~" She tossed him over to Charisma.

"~With all the talent we had~" Charisma pushed him into Hans.

"~No doubt about it, we fight and we tout it~" Hans went to his ear. "Come on Raphael, join in. For Marie."

He couldn't argue with that. This trip around Europe was for Marie, to find a cure for her. He wouldn't find it if he moped and sulked all the time. "...~We're the very best at being bad guys!~" He blushed with embarrassment at first but Hans gave him a pat on the shoulder to assure him of a good singing voice.

They danced around the street. "~We're rotten to the core~" Charisma spun around.

Cleo put her elbow on her shoulder. "~My congratulations, no one likes you anymore~"

"~Bad guys!~" They were all having a good time with this song.

Phantom R twirled while holding his fedora. "~We're the very worst, each of us contemptible, we're criticised and cursed~"

They all took their fedoras off their heads and waved them while walking down the street, just like in the movie. "~We made the big time, malicious and mad. We're the very best at being bad~"

Cleo danced with a couple and secretly stole a golden pocket from them. "Hey, look at me! I'm dancing!"

While holding their fedoras they pranced up the streets. "~We could have been anything that we wanted to be, we took the easy way out~"

They put one foot over the other and put their fedoras back on their heads. "~With little training, we mastered complaining. Manners seemed unnecessary, we're so rude it's almost scary~"

A giant cake came up the street and went round a corner, Cleo chased after it with a drooling mouth. The others followed her. "~We could have been anything we wanted to be, with all the talent we had~"

After a ruckus they came out with a giant cake in their arms. Cleo took a scoop of the icing with her finger and ate it. "~With little practice, we made every blacklist~" They gave it to a man with a cart, so he would take the blame.

"~We're the very best at being bad~" They danced away before the bakers could come out from the corner. "~We're the very best at being bad~" The Sistine Chapel was in view now. "~We're the very best at being bad!~" They finished and then burst out laughing. Cleo hadn't noticed how nice Phantom R's laugh sounded. He had never laughed that way before. It wasn't a normal man's laugh, it was a sweet and lovely sounding laugh that made your heart melt when you heard it.

After they had dried their tears of joy they went into the chapel, hand in hand. But, what they didn't see was a red haired gentleman watching them from a distance. A tear crawled down his face but he brushed it away quickly. "Please Raphael…...don't make the same mistake your mother did... " He whispered.

**End of Chapter 10**


	11. Chapter 11: Flavorless Justice

Dark shadows passed the car window, my purse was in my hand. I took out a picture from it and looked at it, Issac…..why did you have to hide this from me and from your own son? It was bad enough that the only money we were making was from my own ballet career. I remember when we first saw each other, he was staring at my graceful dancing. After the concert I was swarmed by hundreds of eager fans asking for autographs and some for a kiss, but Issac bravely pushed them out of the way. He said: 'Why don't you just leave the poor woman alone?' Then everyone stared at him and slowly left the lobby with confused and disgusted looks. I thanked him and tried to give him some money as a token of my thanks but he refused and took me out for dinner instead. And that's when I felt it click. I didn't know me and him had so much in common, I thought I was the only one who was interested in Greek and Roman Mythology but it seemed he was intrigued by it as well. We started going out then and before I knew it…..I was pregnant.

My first child, Raphael, came out healthy and happy. He didn't even cry like all the others did, he just went to sleep the second he came out without a sound. That was years ago, he was 7 now. I wonder how he would react if he found out about this? He probably wouldn't understand it because of his age, poor Raphael, my poor sweet young man.

"Excuse me Miss?" The driver spoke to me. "But what time is this concert of yours supposed to be?"

I hurriedly put the picture back into my purse. "Oh uhh….9:30pm" I answered.

The driver tsked. "Well it's shame you're going to miss it." He looked at me through the car mirror above him. "Sorry sweetheart."

Suddenly he did a sharp turn and sent the car flying. It flipped over and smashed into a tree. Glass shattered everywhere and made it look like it was snowing inside the car, I could barely breathe.

"This is it…" I thought. "This is where I die!"

"Jeez it's like a world of pictures in here." Phantom R was right, biblical pictures covered the walls of The Sistine Chapel making it look like they were in a picture themselves.

Cleo walked around, her steps echoed. "Looks like no one's here but us."

"How weird.." Hans said, with a puzzled look. "Usually this place is filled to the brim with tourists."

Charisma leaned against the wall. "Maybe they just…..thought this place was boring?"

Cleo turned around. "...You know Charisma? You've been acting weird ever since we met you…"

Charisma stared at her, wide eyed. "W-What do y-you mean? I've been acting like a normal human being…" She laughed nervously.

Cleo walked towards her slowly. "Oh yeah? Then why didn't you show any signs of remorse when Josette died?"

Charisma backed up, her back eventually hit a wall. She was now trapped. "W-w-w-well…..I-I…..uhhh…..I can explain…"

Cleo pinned her to the wall. "What's your deal? You're not one of the sirens are you?" Her narrow eyes pierced into Charisma like icicles.

Charisma shook her head violently. "No no no! I'm not one of them!" She was sweating. "L-L-Listen! I-I really don't like it when people come this close to me! It makes me feel trapped!"

"Well if you're not a siren, then are you-" Cleo began.

"Hey guys!" Phantom R had already studied the place and had found a secret door, it was open now thanks to Phantom R's sharp thinking. "I found this door, the pendants are probably in here."

Cleo looked back at Charisma. "We'll go check out this room first." She said to her. Cleo walked off to Phantom R. "Oh goodie! A secret room! You really are smart Raphael." She hugged him.

"U-uh…..no big deal.." He fanned himself with his fedora to keep the blush away.

Hans shook his head. "Shall we just go in? I fear that Charisma won't make it." He held his hand out for Charisma, she shakily took it and embraced Hans.

Phantom R folded his arms. "Are you two seriously going to embrace each other after I just found a door?"

Hans looked at him, his cheeks were on fire with embarrassment. "N-No." He gently pushed Charisma away. "Let's go inside this door."

Charisma was left sad and disheartened but she followed them inside. An empty room was in front of them, full of nothing but dark grey walls and a piece of paper on a pedestal.

Hans studied the room but there was nothing else there. "Who on earth would make this room just to put a piece of paper in it?" He took the note and read it.

'_I'm sorry to say, the pendants aren't here._

_But don't give up, you'll lose someone who's dear._

_Go to the household where Beelzebub resides,_

_If that pendant is gone then the household dies._

_They can't live forever, that necklace is their only hope._

_So take immortality away from them, clean their deads with soap.'_

"Gluttony.." Cleo said. "Someone's using the pendant of Gluttony to keep them alive forever?"

Hans stared at her. "Where did you get the idea that it was the pendant of Gluttony?"

"Beelzebub is the demon of Gluttony." She smirked. "He seems to be the one who's always looming overhead when I see food."

Hans tsked. "Eat too much do you? Hard to believe you're skinny when you claim to eat so much."

Cleo narrowed her eyes at him. "Speak about my shape again and I'll punch your teeth out." She spoke through clenched teeth.

Phantom R stepped in between the two. "Guys, please. I don't want a fight in here. I mean think of Marie-"

"Oh, it's all about her is it?!" Cleo's fists were clenched and shaking in anger.

Phantom R stared at Cleo in confusion. "What?"

"All you want is to please that petty, weak little princess of yours! 'Oh Marie's important.' 'I love her' 'We need to find the cure for her' 'She's so beautiful' WHO CARES?! MARIE IS A SNIVELING LOSER WHO CAN JUST GO DIE IN A DITCH!" Cleo cried out so loudly that it sounded like screeching bats echoing in the chapel.

Phantom R was now getting angry with her. "You don't know her like I do! You're judging someone before you've even got to know them!" He kept his tone down because Cleo was a 14 year old girl who didn't know what she was talking about. "Marie is kind, beautiful and-"

"Oh! Here we go again!" Cleo interrupted him. "The man just doesn't know when to shut up does he? Listen to me, Raphael. That _princess_ is weak and useless! I'm strong and useful! Why aren't I important like her?!" She grabbed his shoulders. "Why can't I be an important part of your life?! WHAT DID I DO WRONG?!"

He pushed her away. "What's going on with you?! You did nothing wrong! I just love Marie more than you! You're not as beautiful as her okay?!" He saw the sudden pain in her eyes and realized what he had said. "O-Oh…..Cleo….I-I didn't mean it….like that…"

She stared at the ground in silence. She looked up, spat on the ground near Phantom R and walked out. "Cleo! Wait! I-I didn't mean it!" She didn't pay any attention and walked out of the chapel. Phantom R held his forehead. "Jeez, I didn't know she was envious of Marie. Does she really want my attention that badly?" Then it hit him like a train. '...Does she…..love me..?' He thought.

"You might want to go and find her." Hans cut into his thoughts. "She could cause trouble with an attitude like that."

He spun round. "Oh...yeah yeah. I'll go find her. But uhh...can I ask you something?"

Hans shrugged. "Sure, what is it?"

Phantom R twirled his hair around his finger. "How good are the hot chocolates here in Italy?"

"I don't know, I've never tried one. Why?"

Phantom R smiled in a secretive way. "No reason." Fondue barked at him happily. "Well, I'll see you guys back at the hotel, okay?"

He ran out of the chapel with Fondue following behind him. Only Hans and Charisma were left in there. Charisma looked troubled, a huge cloud of doubt towering over her head. "Hans…"

"Yes Charisma? What is it?"

"There's something you need to know. I don't know why, but I feel safe about telling you it."

"...Okay, go ahead."

"You see, Hans. Well…"

Cleo was sitting on The Trevi Fountain. The waterfall rolled down into the fountain and splashed some water onto her skin, with the ancient statues standing on top of it you would have thought that they ruled the fountain with pride. The setting sun peaked over the buildings and shined on the fountain. Strangely, there was no one else there except Cleo. It's like all of Rome went out of the city and to a different location. Her ponytail was curled on her left shoulder.

The orange light shined in her eyes, illuminating them like stars in a young night sky. Suddenly, Fondue plodded up to her, his paws quietly stepping across the stone floor.

He had a note in his mouth, which he gently dropped into Cleo's hands once he got to her. He sat down and wagged his tail. She opened the folded note.

'_Envy was a woman who thought everyone else was stronger, faster and better than her. Sometimes she took her attitude out on other people, which caused them to see the world the same way as her. Everyone to the envious were much better and popular than them, so much that they could do nothing but envy them. This happened to one young girl, who thought she was unnoticed and forgotten. But she didn't realise, that someone had cared about her from the first moment he saw her.'_

"What on earth is-" Cleo scratched her head, she took no notice of the note and put it down on the ground. She sang quietly to herself. "~In sleep he sang to me, in dreams he came. That voice which calls to me and speaks my name~" Fondue barked at her. "~And do I dream again? For now I find, The phantom of the opera is there inside my mind~"

She still sat there for a few seconds, when out of no where a voice sang back to her. "~Sing once again with me, our strange duet~" Cleo stood up and looked around to see where the voice was coming from. "~My power over you grows stronger yet~" The voice sounded near, she turned around and saw a dark figure striding slowly up to her. She knew who it was and turned away from him. "~And though you turn from me, to glance behind~" As he said this she slowly turned her head back round, the red haired man was now close enough to see his entire face. "~The phantom of the opera is there, inside your mind~" He stopped and grinned at her.

Cleo glared at him. "Save it." She sat back down.

Phantom R wasn't going to take no as an answer, he sat on the fountain and scooted over to her. "Hey come on, I've got you something."

"What?" Cleo asked.

Phantom R handed her a cup with a plastic lid on it. "It's to make up for yesterday morning, since Charisma decided to stay with Hans."

Cleo took the cup and looked at it. Upon opening it she found a steamy chocolate liquid inside it, the smell couldn't have been anything else, she knew exactly what it was. Phantom R chuckled as she looked at him with lit up eyes. "Oh you remembered!" She threw her arms around him.

"Woah hey….take it easy." He stroked the sobbing girl's hair. "I'm just doing what my father taught me to do."

"S-Sorry." She sniffed. "It's just that no friend has done something this nice to me, I think they were scared by the weapons I had on my hands."

"Like my father always said: 'You should always help a lady in distress'. That's how he met my mother." He did one of those happy cheerful smiles.

Cleo took a sip of the hot chocolate, a warm smile spreading across her face as she swallowed it. "Ooh, that's good. That's really good." She offered him some. "You want a sip?"

"No thanks, it's for you anyway." Phantom R refused. It seemed that he didn't mind how Cleo was envious of Marie anymore, it was probably just hormones that made Cleo snap. Or maybe…..it was something else.

Cleo shrugged and drank her hot chocolate. "My family are millionaires, so everything can be mine by the click of a finger."

Millionaires? Those people on the news back in Greece, were they her parents? But hold on, wasn't it a boy that went missing from their family? It could have been unless….it was a mistranslation.

"What's your last name Cleo?" He finally asked, he had to know if his theory was correct.

"Valice. Cleo Valice." She swallowed and turned away from him.

So it was them. "Why….are they looking for you when it was their fault that you went missing in the first place?" He took off his fedora and stroked his hair back.

"Beats me. They probably went all soft the moment they got home and decided that they needed me." She grinned. "Have you ever read The Outsiders?"

He nodded. A cool breeze blew through the streets and through his crimson hair.

"Well, I think of myself as Dallas Winston. Tough, strong and brought up on the streets. Except I was brought up in a house and not in the streets like Dally. He was an interesting character to me. It's a shame that he died near the end…...I had a crush on him." She shuffled about.

Phantom R put his arm around her shoulder. "Hey come on, there's others like him. Little Pharaoh."

"Little Pharaoh? W-" Then she realised the joke and glared. "Oh haha, very funny. It's because of my name isn't it?"

"Oh come on, Cleopatra was a historical figure. She was a tough woman to get across." Phantom R said.

Cleo shrugged. "I guess so but I don't really like the nickname. It's cute but do you really think people won't look at us weirdly if you call me that?"

She had a point. There was another nickname that he had in his head. "..L-Lady Marmalade?" He covered his mouth suddenly. That's what he was going to call Marie!

"Lady Marmalade?" Cleo looked up at him, astonished. Then she laughed nervously. "How did you know that I like marmalade?"

"Huh?" His voice deepened. Phantom R had a sweet like honey voice, but it could go deep when it wanted to.

"I like marmalade, didn't you know?" She raised her shoulders and leaned over to him.

He shook his head. "No no, I didn't know. It was just something that came out."

She stroked through his hair. "Is that really your real hair colour? You didn't dye it that way or anything?"

"Nope. My mom and dad had the same hair colour. I was just born with it." He held her hand. "At least you didn't judge it when you first saw it."

A lot of people would. It's not everyday that you see a red haired man walking around with a dog with no lead.

The sun was descending deeper into the horizon, it's red rays painted the sky with it's bright light.

Phantom R stood up. "We should be getting back, Hans and Charisma will be wondering about us." He held his hand out for Cleo.

Cleo stood up as well but instead of taking Phantom R's hand she said. "I prefer to do something else, to thank you for the hot chocolate."

Phantom R was confused but nonetheless intrigued. "Okay." He grinned. "What did you have in mind?"

Cleo grabbed Phantom R's hips with both her hands. She then launched him up into the air and threw him over her shoulder. She held onto his back to support him while he had his arms dangling over her back and his legs dangling over her stomach. "Just because I thought you'd get tired of the walk back."

Phantom R was staring into the ground, with his eyes widened and mouth gaping. "Is…..this really necessary though? I mean, I can walk by myself."

"No no no. I won't allow you to tire yourself out, I'll carry you don't worry." She began walking.

"But I'm 18, surely I must be heavy for a teen like you." Phantom R said worriedly.

"Oh believe me you're heavy." Cleo panted. "But not heavy enough that I can't carry you."

He had no choice, he had to let her carry him, any further convincing would annoy her beyond belief.

Rome was forebodingly quiet. It was as if the whole of the city had evacuated and they were the only ones left. Cleo waded through the silence of the streets, the quietness was so thick you could hear a pin drop. And upon entering the hotel they found the staff fast asleep, snoring like little babies in a crib. She still kept carrying Phantom R, she deserved a medal for how she kept him on her shoulder even though he was too heavy for her.

She launched him off onto the bed where Charisma was sleeping peacefully, Hans wasn't there though.

"He must have gone back to his room." Cleo went over to put her pajamas on.

After they had gotten settled down they turned over and went to sleep.

Marie had not seen Raphael or Jean-Francios ever since The Hanging Gardens incident. But now, because he asked her, she had to go see him in the prison where he was. She waited in the reception room, her palms sweaty and her heart thumping slightly. What was her old guardian like now? Was he insane? Did he want to kill her? Did he have strange drawings all over his cell just like in those movies? Elizabeth held her hand and spoke to her calmly.

"Relax my child, he won't hurt you with the prison guards there." She gave her a reassuring smile.

Marie shook her head. "It's not Jean-Francios lashing out at me that I'm worried about, Mother. I'm more…...angry at him than scared."

Elizabeth stared off into the distance, soaking up the sour memories. "You have every right to be angry at him, Marie. He manipulated you and almost killed Raphael." Her tone of voice was not one that Marie had heard before, Elizabeth was never this bitter.

Marie pulled nervously at her diamond necklace, now that Marie was officially a princess she had to wear royal clothes on visits such as this. Elizabeth had given her an aqua blue dress with a skirt up to knee height and blue pumps. Marie didn't like walking in them but her mother insisted since she was a princess.

Inspector Vergier emerged from the cell entrance. "He's ready for you, Your Highness."

Marie and Elizabeth stood up, they walked towards the door. Vergier suddenly stopped Elizabeth. "I'm afraid he only wants to see the princess, Your Grace."

Elizabeth pulled a hurt look but quickly straightened it into a cold stare. "He could harm my daughter Inspector…"

"I doubt it, he hasn't hurt anyone since he got here. He only spends days in that cell of his. I suspect he's planning something however.." Vergier shifted his eyes in thought and then looked at Marie. "Come on now, this way your highness."

He led Marie into the cells, Marie waved to her mother as she followed him into the dark hallway. Many prisoners were moaning in pain, banging on the cell doors and giving disgusted looks to Marie as she passed them. Vergier yelled at them to shut up and held Marie's hand for comfort. Marie felt a little bit safe around the inspector but the person she really wanted with her, was Raphael. Finally they came to Jean-Francios's cell. It was patterned with symbols of a small triangle and a rising sun, the same symbol Raphael had on his coin. The murky cobblestone shone with the sun from the window in the cell, giving off a grimy light to the whole cell.

Vergier tapped on the bars with his pistol, after a few seconds a face with glasses and blue eyes appeared. He looked at Vergier and then at Marie, his mouth extended into a sly smile and he walked up to the bars. Marie was shaking, but she still held her ground.

Vergier pointed his pistol at Jean-Francios and made the rounds click. "Any funny business and I'll put an end to your project, or whatever you're working on in the back of that cell. You understand?"

Jean-Francios nodded. "Completely Inspector. No harm will come to the girl."

Vergier put the pistol back into his pocket. "If he hurts you, scream for me and I'll come." He said to Marie. Vergier took one last look at Jean-Francios and then left to tend to the other prisoners.

The two enemies were left there, staring at each other with none of them daring to make a move. Jean-Francios held onto the bars and put his face towards Marie. "Well well well, look at you. You most certainly have grown. Tell me, how is your new found life treating you? Last I read in the newspaper Phantom R abandoned you and went off to make new friends."

Marie was suddenly fueled with anger. She punched Jean-Francios so hard in the face that he fell to the floor because of the impact. Marie didn't regret what she had done, she remembered her mother's words. '_You have every right to be angry at him, Marie.'_.

Jean-Francios wiped his mouth where she had punched him. He suddenly grinned at her. "Gotten a bit tougher I see. Are you really still mad at me for all those months ago?"

"Two months ago." She said with a cold stare.

He grabbed her chin and smiled."You share Elizabeth's same cold stare. She always looked at me like that ever since The Mystere Incident happened." Marie pushed him away, still staring at him in the same way. Jean-Francios just shrugged. He got out a wrench from his pocket and tapped the bars with it.

"What on earth are you working on anyway?" She said while peering in the back.

"Ah this? Why this is my solution for getting out of this jail, my dear." The cell floor was caked in black oil.

Marie touched the bars, oily. She rubbed her hands on her handkerchief. "You won't get very far anyway. Raphael will stop you, like he did before!"

"Oh really now?" Jean-Francios put down the wrench and started to put some mysterious metal parts together, they looked like steel but they had a strange aura surrounding them. "Tell me Marie, how will Raphael have the strength to save Paris from the new order when you're dead?"

"Huh?" Marie felt an icy surge in her chest. "What do you mean?"

Jean-Francios chuckled. "Didn't you know? You have a Medusa's curse placed upon you."

A shiver went down her spine. "Y-You…..You're lying! There's no way I could have a curse!"

"Oh don't worry. Soon enough you'll have two snake tattoos covering your body, and because of your sensitive skin…" He brought her closer to him. "...you'll die.." He let out a laugh that only the devil would applaud. Marie was shaking really badly, everything was going by in a daze.

Suddenly, something knocked Jean-Francios out. She thought it was Raphael and was about to call for him, but no, it was Vergier. "What a crazy old fool, who does he think he is?" Vergier sighed and turned to Marie. "Are you alright Madame? He didn't hurt you did he?"

Marie wanted to tell him the truth but would a down to the ground person like him believe her? Of course not. "No no no, he didn't hurt me at all. He just…..went a bit mad.."

"I see." Vergier looked at the knocked out man in disgust. "Shall we get you back to your mother? Before he wakes up again?"

She nodded quickly. "Yes, that would be great Inspector."

Marie felt dizzy and confused. Was Jean-Francios really being serious? Would she really die soon? She shouldn't be experiencing this at 17! She should be living her life as a 17 year old princess for godsake!

Elizabeth took Marie back to her manse and they sat down together. Alfred served them tea with a few creamed treats on the side, he bowed and left them to talk. Elizabeth stirred her tea and took a sip, Marie put two sugars into hers and left it to cool down.

"So, I'm guessing Jean-Francios didn't like the sight of you?" Elizabeth picked up a cream scone.

Marie came out of her daze. "O-Oh...um..yeah. I guess he didn't like the sight of me. he was strangely calm around me and treated me like I was still under his wing."

Elizabeth was about to bite into her scone but stopped. "That man does love control doesn't he.." She muttered to herself.

Marie couldn't hold it in anymore, she burst into tears. The flood that came out of her eyes would be enough to fill the Atlantic Ocean. Elizabeth was shocked at this. "Marie?! Whatever is the matter?!" She came over to her.

Marie threw her arms around Elizabeth. "Oh mother, it's Raphael! I miss Raphael! I don't ask for much! I just want to see him smiling at me again, even if it's just once!" She hugged her tightly.

Elizabeth patted her on the back. "I know….I know…" She spoke softly to her. "But you can't be seen with Raphael, not when he's an art thief. People, even the inspector, would think that you're conspiring with him." She lifted Marie's head from her shoulder. "We may invite him round for a little chat but not when he's busy stealing."

Marie sniffled and wiped her eyes. "Okay mother." She looked like she agreed with it outside but inside, she was burning with bitter anger. She didn't want to wait, she wanted to see him now! Her feelings were exploding with bitterness but she couldn't do anything about it. She had to let them and bite her tongue.

Elizabeth smiled at her. "Now…." She leaned towards her. But as she did, her eyes turned green. She looked like she was in a trance, her eyes were blank and unblinking. She spoke in a different voice, a young lady's voice. "Where is my son?"

**End of Chapter 11**


	12. Chapter 12: A Blind Man

**Do you know what I love about this fanbase? I love how there's a month dedicated to Urbain XD He only helped us find Charlie and then after that he never appears in the game again (at least I don't think anyway). To be honest my favourite side character was Professor Remy. He had such an interesting personality and he seemed to really love his wife too. Oh but don't you worry, Urbain will be appearing in this fanfic ;) Anyway, continuing on with the story.**

Hans walked through the halls of the Italian hotel. He expected Charisma, Cleo and Raphael to be in their room. But when he knocked at least 12 times he realized they weren't there. He went down the stairs and went outside to look for them, then he heard something. Funky beatboxing was coming from around the corner. Hans followed the sound and found a crowd of people gathered in one spot.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! I present to you, The Venus Rap Battles!" As he said this a sound of cheer erupted from the crowd. "Today's rap battle is, Cleo" Cleo came out with a mic in her hand and wearing her normal clothes. "Verses, Phantom R!" Phantom R got the most cheer and applause from the crowd, since they actually thought he was pretending to be the phantom thief. He held his mic to his mouth while looking at Cleo.

The beatboxing started again and everyone went silent as they watched the two circle each other. Cleo took a breath and nodded her head to the beat. "~Well look who it is, the famous Phantom Thief. I can see now that you'll run away like a sheep. You stole a lot of artworks and so what? Compared to everyone in Paris you're just a dot.~

A roar of 'Ohh!' came from the crowd as they applauded Cleo. The beatboxing continued and Phantom R took a step forward. He still had his smug attitude showing. "~And what? You're someone famous? I don't think so. Everytime I steal, I have to lay low. And even if the police try to catch me, I float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. I'm even older than you, you're just a little kid. Why don't you go back home just like your parents did?~"

The crowd applauded and cheered. Cleo was a little heated from that last line. "~Oh what? You can't take the fact? That your mother is gone and your dad got sacked? That's how the real world works, get used to it. You cannot win with only your perks. I got a rich family and what have you got? A lonely fedora and your iron pot.~"

It seemed Cleo had recognised and memorised the big iron pot that he had in his kitchen back in Paris. Phantom R didn't take this seriously and kept hammering her. "~Oh you're gonna deep? Well I'll go deeper. You had a baby sister who was born to be a leaper. Your last name is Valice. It rhymes with Chalice. And if you're so rich then why don't you live in a palace? I think this rap battle is nearly done. Unless you can rap until the setting sun.~"

He took his mic away and waited for Cleo to deliver her words. Cleo fished around in her eyes for words but couldn't find any. Phantom R saw her confused look and thought this was the right time. "Cleo. I….I l-" But before he get the words out of his mouth the host interrupted him.

"The winner of this rap battle is: Phantom R!" He held up Phantom R's hand in triumph. Phantom R should have been happy, but he wasn't. He nearly said it too. Maybe next time when they were alone, that would be better and less awkward.

After the crowd had disappeared Phantom R walked up to Cleo. "Cleo.." He folded his arms around his back. "I have something to tell you. I l-"

"Hey Phantom R!" Charlie ran up to them. She panted once she got up to where they were. "Sorry to interrupt you, mate. But I've found something."

"Something?" Phantom R leaned forward a little bit.

Charlie nodded and showed him a sketch of a map. "Me and Hans worked on this last night. There's these girls who say that the pendants you're looking for are here." She pointed to the red circle on the map. It looked like a small dinky building near the canal.

"Looks like a pile of rubbish to me." Cleo peered round.

Hans and Charisma came up to them, they were holding hands. Phantom R found this weird but didn't question it. "Looks can deceive anyone." Hans said.

Charlie shrugged. "So do you want to go and find the pendants?"

Phantom R nodded. "Yeah sure." He glanced at Charisma and Hans's hands. "Let's go."

The walk to the small building was long and tiring. They had to stop at a number of food shops to stop Cleo moaning. Charisma and Hans stayed surprisingly close to each other, with Hans looking over at the crowds at random moments. This was definitely getting weird, Hans was never this protective of Charisma. They finally got to the building before Phantom R could question it any longer. The building was grimey white and had wilted flowers planted outside it. It would probably make a good home for someone who never cared about how their house looked but others, it would be disgusting.

The inside looked as appallingly disgusting as the outside. Some of the walls had crumbled to nothing, the floor was covered in dry leaves that were decomposed beyond belief and, upon looking around, there were no pendants in sight.

"Looks like those girls were lying Charlie." Phantom R sighed as he touched the walls for any trap door or switch.

Suddenly, a scream filled the room with panic. Phantom R went to see what was wrong but he got a sharp blow to the head and was knocked onto the floor. He struggled to get up, shaking and clenching his head in agonising pain. Something forced him to meet the floor once again. Cleo was screaming, bullets were being fired and Charlie was yelling. It was certainly a mad world. In his daze he managed to make out a girl looking down upon him. She had short brown hair and green eyes. She came up close to him and Phantom R's eyes went wide in shock. It was the same girl who had showed him where that art shop was all those months ago, it was Grace. He wanted to speak to her, to ask her why she was here. But the sound of metal being fired at made her look the other way.

"My god.." Someone whispered loudly.

"S-She's..!" Another said.

A yelp came from another. "We can't kill her! She's invincible!"

"She's tougher than she looks. Run!" They all ran away with screams that you'd only hear from seagulls.

Phantom R's vision was blurry. He was still shaking and juddering from the blow he got to the head. He heard some feet running across the ground towards him, Charlie and Cleo. They both asked if he was okay and helped him to his feet. Then he saw another person in the room with him, someone he recognised. The rose he was holding and his night black hair was no mistake, it was Professor Remy. He was comforting Charisma who was shaking as well, but there was something odd about her. Charisma had been shot, there was no doubt about that, but instead of wounds on her body…...there were dents. Deep, bullet dents.

"There there my sweet Charisma, don't worry we'll get you fixed up." He turned to Phantom R. "So we meet again. The boy who tricked me into thinking my wife had forgiven me."

Phantom R swallowed. He remembered that girl, Rosalie, he had saved her from Professor Remy. He was lecturing the students after he had fought with his wife which was the same as usual. Phantom R had decided to help Rosalie and the other students out by recording his wife's kiss and playing it to him to fool him into thinking that his wife had forgiven him. It helped the students out and Phantom R got the information he needed but Professor Remy…..the results were devastating to say the least.

Professor Remy sniffed his rose. "We're divorced now, you know."

"Oh I'm so sorry!" Phantom R pleaded.

"Non monsieur, it was not your doing. I spotted her hanging out with some guy, she claimed it was part of her career since she was a dancer but I could sense that it was more than just her job..!" He clenched his rose tightly.

Cleo peered over at Charisma. "Charisma? Are you alright?"

Charisma turned around, and revealed something that would change how people saw her forever. There, on her stomach, was a little scratch. The clothes had been peeled off by a bullet, to reveal cold hard metal beneath it. She covered it in an attempt to hide it, but it was too late. Everyone now knew her secret.

Cleo looked at her with an empty, but shocked, expression on her face. "C-Charisma? W-What?"

Professor Remy came over and put his arm around Charisma's shoulder. "Oui madame, what you see here is true."

Charisma shook her head with tears welling up in her eyes. "I-I'm not like you. I'm not human….I'm a robot.." She hung her head and cried softly.

Hans came over and hugged her. Charisma suddenly howled like a wounded wolf. The truth was that she was wounded, she was wounded because she tried to pretend she was something else and now she was exposed to everyone.

Hans patted her back. "She told me her secret at The Sistine Chapel, after you just left to find Cleo. I felt sorry for her and asked her out. And now…" He looked at the three of them with hopeful eyes. "...We're together.."

Phantom R raised a shaky finger. "H-Hold on a minute. If Charisma is a robot then does that mean that her fiancee in Denmark is.."

"Made-up." Remy said. "We had to make up a fake backstory for Charisma to fit in."

"How do you know all about this?" Phantom R asked.

Remy shifted his glasses around. "My sunglasses aren't properly adjusted. I'm blind, you see."

Blind? He wasn't blind the last time he saw him.

Remy finally cleared his throat and spoke. "I made Charisma, for a man named Issac."

"My father?!" Phantom R exclaimed.

"But if you're blind." Cleo said. "Then how did you see your wife with another man?"

"I'm not completely blind. I can slightly make out people's silhouettes, as long as they are close to me. If they're far away then I might end up running into people without even knowing they're there." He looked at Phantom R and then began speaking again. "I'm not sure if it was your father or not. I couldn't make out his colour of hair or anything. Rosalie told me that you have an interesting hair colour but I can never remember it for some reason."

Phantom R chuckled. "Well it certainly is interesting."

"I came with Issac to some sort of experiment lab where they took Charisma away somewhere. I could see someone tampering with her, someone by the name of Jean Francios."

"Jean Francios was there?!"

"Oui, he wanted Charisma for some sort of deadly weapon. He wanted to bring in a new order to Paris using her. But her programming declined any negative emotions, so Jean Francios abandoned her and ordered her to be destroyed. Luckily, Issac rescued her and fixed her up to be what she is now. We gave her the name Charisma because her programming made her very sociable and cheerful. Issac placed Charisma in that hotel and ordered her to team up with you." Remy paused and looked at Charisma.

Charisma cuddled up closer to Hans. "Yes, it's all true. My master, Issac, told me to look for a red haired man by the age of 18. I've been trying to hide my identity so that the Chevaliers won't find me."

"The Chevaliers Diabolique?" Phantom R knew this group. They were hot on his tail all through Paris and they were also the ones responsible for the rising of The Hanging Gardens.

"Yes, that's them. They've hunted you down in the past I've heard." Charisma said.

Remy continued. "Jean Francios resulted to The Hanging Gardens after he disposed of Charisma, but we all know how that turned out."

Phantom R smiled. "Yep, that was a good day my friend."

"Jean Francios found out the truth and poured a dangerous chemical into my eyes, causing me to go blind. That was one of the reasons that my wife left me, she didn't want to be married to a blind man who has no sense of how to treat his loved one is what she said." Remy caressed his pink rose. "I still miss her. I shouldn't, but I do. She was the loveliest wife I could ever ask for, and now thanks to Jean Francios I can never see her sweet face again."

"I'm really sorry Professor." Phantom R repeated.

Remy shook his head. "Like I said before monsieur, it is not your doing. It's that woman's fault…"

Cleo slowly walked outside, she needed time to digest what she had just heard.

They all stood in silence, they too needed to process the truth. No one had ever suspected Charisma would be a hard metal being. Charlie pulled down her sleeve and looked at the time. "Oh my g-" She looked again. "Is that really the time?!"

Remy stared at her. "What's wrong monsieur?"

Charlie froze and glared at him. "I'm a GIRL."

"Really?" Remy raised his eyebrow. "You don't sound like a girl to me."

She scoffed. "Shows what you know." Her shoulders shook unnaturally. "It's almost time for the Adezzi's masquerade ball!"

Everyone realised she was talking about and hurried away to get ready, everyone except Phantom R. He needed more time, everything seemed different to him now. time had slowed down for him and he was staring at the ground in a trance. Fondue's bark brought him back to his senses. His tail was drooping and his ears were down. Phantom R stroked him. "It's okay boy. I'm just surprised I guess. I mean I never expected Charisma to be different on the inside."

Fondue whined and barked at the door. Phantom R looked at it and saw that everyone had gone. "Looks like this ball is pretty important."

He straightened himself up. "Well, I don't know what Cleo is going to wear. But I do know what I'm going to wear." He clicked his fingers which meant he was cocky enough to be sure of anything. "Come on Fondue, let's get suited up."

The villa was decorated with gorgeous lilac and yellow lamps, hibiscus flowers beautified the garden and the lamps made the stone path look shiny and new. A light blue ocean was next to the villa and it's waves splashed against the cliffs gently. Everyone was in fancy dress, it certainly was a party.

Cleo was dressed up as Christine from Phantom of the Opera. Her silky white ball gown caught the eyes of everyone, she had her hair done up like Christine as well. She sat down and waited to see if Raphael would come. People gathered into the villa but there was no sign of the red haired man. Her disappointment was taking over her feelings of elaboration. Suddenly the scurrying of feet came to her ears, she looked towards the noise and saw Fondue running up to her. She stroked him and rubbed his stomach. Suddenly she saw some familiar shoes at her feet.

"Hey." A soft voice said. She turned her head up and saw someone dressed up, but this person she recognised. He had red hair and was wearing a black tuxedo with a rose sticking out of it's pocket. He was wearing a mask which was cut in half, showing half his face to the world. He had a black fedora with a white ribbon tied around it.

"Oh my-" She couldn't get the words out of her mouth.

He giggled. "Are you surprised?" Cleo stood and stared at him. He held out his hand to her. "Would you like to go in, my lovely Christine?"

She smiled and took his hand. "Lead the way."

They glided into the villa together, they looked so happy that you could have confused them for a couple. Normal parties weren't as elegant as this. This party had a large ballroom with appetizers on the side. As Raphael and Cleo came in everyone clapped and gasped at their costumes. No one else had the same costume on as each other, everyone was different.

A tall, attractive tanned woman stood on one of the marble steps and called out to everyone. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I know that you are enjoying yourselves but please listen. How do all of you like 'The Waltz'?"

Everyone squealed in delight at this. The lady shushed them down. "Then it's a good thing I hired the best musician in Austria. I present to you, Roderich Edelstein. Performing 'The Waltz' on the piano."

The black haired man flexed his fingers and the started playing the piano. The beautiful sound of the keys being pressed filled the ballroom. Everyone grabbed onto their partner and started dancing slowly to the music. Graceful steps around the ballroom and murmured whispers that filled the air with strange uncertainty.

Raphael pulled Cleo into his arms, caressing her beautiful hair and putting his arm around her waist. He swung her around the other couples in the room. Round and round they both spun, they were like graceful swans swimming over a lake. They somehow managed to come outside on a marble balcony where the stars were the only audience for them to see. Cleo sat down upon the marble bench letting her dress spread out and cover the bench. Raphael glided down next to her and put his arm around her shoulder.

"Looks like that waltz training we did in the pool really did pay off." The stars twinkled in her big blue eyes.

He put his hand on her cheek and gently turned her small head to his. "You being in that dress just makes it more memorable." He took her hand and pressed his lips against the pale skin. He brought her face up to his and went to her ear. "You're beautiful, Cleo" He whispered.

She brought herself away from him, eyes sparkling and cheeks on fire. "Stop it, you're making me blush.." She turned away and put her hand on her shoulder.

Raphael, seeing as how he was as cocky as ever, wasn't going to give up now. He went to the other side of the bench where she was facing and twirled his hair onto his finger. "There's no need to be shy you know. We are friends after all."

"I just wish I could apologise to Marie about all that I said about her." Cleo shifted about in her dress.

He turned her head towards him. "Don't worry about it, you can say sorry once we see her again." He gave her an eskimo kiss. "But for now, let's focus on this special moment."

Cleo laughed. "And what's so special about it? Well other than this beautiful night."

His red hair gently rested on his broad shoulders. He wasn't sure if he should of done it or not but he leaned over and kissed Cleo's neck. "I guess that would be you." Cleo thought it was the wind speaking to her at first but then she realised it was his soft voice.

They both embraced each other. Fondue knew by the way they were smiling and blushing that they both had feelings for each other. At first Fondue thought Raphael would have confessed his feelings to Marie, they seemed like the perfect couple, but no. It looked like he had feelings for Cleo instead, and they had only known each other for at least a week.

"Cleo." His red cheeks reflected the light of the ballroom inside. "I...uhh….I've got something to confess to you."

She giggled. "Are you really blushing?"

"Y-Yeah.." He nodded. "I've..uhhh….I've never felt like this before. I mean around Marie I felt happy and content since she really is a good friend. But around you, I feel warm inside and somehow….complete."

"Are you saying that you have feelings for me?" She moved away slightly.

Raphael noticed this and quickly corrected himself. "No no! Nothing like that! I just…...thought you might want to know how I feel…..that's all!"

He felt a little disappointed about this, he had the mood going and it all just collapsed on him. Cleo shrugged. "Well alright then." She stood up. "I'm going to go get some food okay?" She walked back into the ballroom.

He waved to her and once she had gone his face twisted up with sadness and disappointment. He fished something out of his pocket, Charisma's sapphire ring. She had come to visit him before he went to the masquerade party. 'Since you know I'm not really engaged, then you can have this ring. Like I said before, I think sapphire really suits her.' She had said to him. He rubbed the jewel in the middle of it between his fingers. Fondue whined at him. "I'm okay Fondue, don't worry about me. I guess this just wasn't the right time. She probably would have turned me down anyway."

Suddenly an explosion of laughter and gasping erupted from the ballroom. Raphael didn't know what to make of it but went inside anyway. He pushed everyone out the way and went towards the front of the crowd. There, in the middle of the ballroom, was Hans. But there was something different about him. His cheeks were red but Charisma and him weren't kissing or anything, Hans was slurring his words and laughing while Charisma was trying to calm him down.

"I think everyonnee…...iss….a bad...bad…..child…" He laughed drunkenly and stumbled over.

Charisma helped him up. "Hans honey, I think you've drunk a little bit too much of that vodka and moscato…"

Hans pushed her away gently. "You're...nott….the bossss...offf..mee.." He had a bottle of whiskey in his hand, he took a swig of it and gulped it down. "~Ohhh…..I wish it could be christmassss…...everydayyy~" He laughed to himself again.

Charisma was getting worried now, she tried to take the whiskey bottle out of his hand. "Hans give me the bottle."

He snatched his hand away from her. "Why won't you let me drinnkk? I've beenn nothinngg but good tooo youu" He started crying like a drunk man would. "I'm 22 years oldd! I'm allowed tooo drink ifff I want tooo!"

Remy came out of the crowd and stopped. Hans had ceased to make any noise. Raphael understood what Remy was doing. He was using his senses to find Hans, specifically his hearing. If Hans wasn't making any noise Remy wouldn't be able to find him. Remy tapped his walking stick on the floor.

"Whatt...areee..youu..dooing?" Hans asked while still trying to maintain his balance.

Remy now knew where Hans was, he followed the sound of his voice and grabbed him. "Charisma my dear, would you help me get Hans out of here?"

Charisma nodded and picked Hans off of the ground. "Come on honey."

Charlotte came out and ran up to Raphael. She was wearing a pink dress with cap sleeves and diamonds dotted all over it. "Phantom, I've got it." She whispered.

Raphael wasn't paying attention so he was surprised to see Charlotte by his side. "Huh?"

She took a pink pendant out of her pocket and showed it to him. The pendant was in the shape of a pile of cakes on top of a platter, it was a see through pink. "Miss Adezzi really didn't want me to get away with this necklace. She wrestled me to the ground and screamed in my face." Charlotte shivered a little bit.

Raphael looked around. There was one person missing, Cleo. Where was she? Then, as if by magic, Cleo ran into the ballroom. She was in her normal clothes and had her knucklebusters slipped on. She panted. "G-Guys..! Some random people are here!" She pointed to outside where some dark shadows were moving across the windows.

It was too late to run away now. They smashed the windows open and burst in. Cleo tried to shield herself from the avalanche of glass coming down. Raphael, now changed into Phantom R, grabbed her and rolled out of the way with her in his arms.

His heart was thumping in his chest like a drum. "Cleo?! Are you okay?!"

Cleo looked up at him with the eyes of a scared animal. "Y-Yeah I'm fine. Why have you changed costume?"

"I've got a bad feeling I know who's crashing the party." He helped Cleo up and went in front of her.

The figures came down and landed on the ballroom floor. Their helmets and claws were too familiar to mistake them for something else. They turned towards Phantom R.

He clenched his teeth. "The Chevalier Diabolique.."

"So this is where you've been hiding." They marched up towards him. "We will make sure that the emperor did not die in vain."

One of them tried to hit him but Phantom R grabbed the chevalier's hand. "Leonar Bonar was not your emperor." He pushed the chevalier away sharply.

The chevalier stumbled. "You've got a lot of guts to push me away like that Phantom R."

He braced himself for the chevalier's impact but instead of a punch, a gunshot sounded. The chevalier stopped and then fell down dead. Phantom R looked down upon it and then realised that the others were being shot too, soon a pile of corpses in armor laid in the ballroom. Some other figures jumped in. Phantom R recognised one of them, Lulu. The figure that shot the first chevalier blew the smoke off her pistol and then took off her cloak. She had blue messy hair and grey eyes. Her black fur coat and black jeans made her look like a spy. She stepped on the chevalier's body with her black designers boots.

She breathed in. "We've finally found you, you sly fox."

Was she talking to Phantom R? He didn't know. "What? You mean me?"

She nodded. "Yes, you. Descendant of Issac."

He narrowed his eyes. She knew who his father was, this couldn't be good news. "Okay, so you know who I am. What do you want?"

The woman tossed her hair back. "I will never reveal my real name to you. But I will tell you my code name. My code name is Medusa."

Phantom R was confused, but then he remembered something and it made his heart stop. '_The one who's after you has eyes of stone._' Now he understood what that sentence meant. It was trying to tell him to stay away from Medusa.

Remy had gone in front of Phantom R while he was still deep in thought. Charlotte, Charisma and Hans were there too. "You're not getting your hands on them today Medusa."

"And what do you think you're going to do, you blind old man?" She sniggered.

"On my cue, run." Remy whispered to Phantom R. He picked up his walking stick and pointed it at Medusa. "I can do a lot of things my dear. I can do things like this." He pressed something on it which opened up the end of the walking stick to reveal a hole. It wasn't just an ordinary walking stick, it was a gun disguised as a walking stick. Remy pointed his stick up to the chandelier above everyone. "I can slightly see light radiating off of this. How interesting." He put his finger on the trigger. "Now." He whispered. A bullet fired and the chandelier came crashing onto the ground, causing the whole ballroom to be plunged into darkness.

Gunshots sounded, people were screaming and running. "Get them! Get them now!" Someone shouted.

"But Boss, what about the pink haired girl? She's invincible!"

"Forget her! Just take out the others! But leave the red haired boy alive!"

The group fumbled through the darkness. Charisma had to guide Remy seeing as how he was blind. Phantom R had Cleo wrapped in his jacket and Charlotte was taking care of Hans. Fondue could see where they were going and he guided them out to the door. The bright lamps of the outside world were pouring in through the door, they were nearly there. Phantom R kicked it open and rushed out, followed by the rest of the group.

The moon shining brightly over the sea seemed to smile at them as they came out. Phantom R collapsed on the grass with Cleo still in his arms, his chest was moving up and down so much that it looked like his heart was trying to leap out. Remy felt around with his walking stick for Charisma.

"Charisma my dear, how is your battery doing?" Remy felt her forehead.

Charisma's eyes lit up with a battery icon inside of them, the battery meter was in the red. "I've got 9% power left, Master"

"Go on and recharge Charisma, I shall carry you back." Remy flicked a switch on Charisma's wrist. Her eyes closed and she fell onto the ground. A battery recharge sign appeared on her forehead.

Hans threw up over the edge of the cliff. He had really drunk too much. Charlotte gave him a pat on the back. "That's it, mate. Let it all out."

Cleo was wheezing and shaking. She wouldn't stop. Phantom R stroked her hair. "It's okay Cleo calm down, it's all over."

She was on the verge of tears again. Phantom R sang her a lullaby. Cleo was put to sleep before she could even cry but she still remembered his voice, it sounded like an angel was singing to her.

Of course she knew that Phantom R was no ordinary man.

He was an angel in disguise.

**End of Chapter 12**


	13. Chapter 13: Gotcha!

**I put a little overtime into completing this one so I might take a longer break than usual. Plus, Christmas is just around the corner so I might be a bit busy getting presents, setting up the tree and what-not. But anyway, continuing on. **

His eyes were still closed, but he was fully awake. He opened and closed his hands to feel around. It felt like he was about to grab something but then it somehow slipped through his hands, it felt like a liquid. He opened his eyes and sat up. Whales swam above him, fish swam past, seaweed flowed, he was underwater. Raphael had no idea how he got down here. He tried to move but there was something strange with his legs, he couldn't move them apart and he couldn't wiggle anything on the end of them.

He was about to look down when suddenly someone cried. "LET ME LOVE YOU!" Raphael felt arms wrap around his chest. He moved his head slightly to the side and saw Hans behind him.

Raphael pushed him away. "Hans?! What are you-" He stopped and froze. Hans didn't have human legs. He had a black fish's tail. "H-Hans? Y-You're..?"

"A merman." Hans pointed at Raphael. "You're one too you know."

Raphael looked down and saw a navy blue fish's tail. "B-But…..how?!"

"If I am correct, we're in a dream that allows us to make physical contact with ourselves and makes us think it's real." Hans said.

Raphael shuddered a little. "How come you said…...that?"

"Oh you mean that 'let me love you' thing? Cleo dared me to do it." Hans held Raphael's shoulder. "I hope you can forgive me for it bro."

Raphael nodded. "No hard feelings. But, can you tell me where Cleo is?"

Hans pointed towards a coral reef in the distance.

Raphael swam over to it, but then everything went black.

He opened his eyes again and found himself looking up at a pale cream ceiling. It was just a dream like Hans said…...within the dream.

Cleo wasn't awake yet since Raphael could still see her brown hair spread across the pillow, she had a rough night and he knew that. He had an idea of what to do for her, to wake her up of course.

He got up and grabbed the phone at the bedside table. He buttoned his white shirt up as he waited for the staff to answer.

"Hello?" Someone answered on the other end of the phone.

"Uhh..hi. Do you do room service in the mornings?" He asked as he slipped on his fedora.

"We sure do sir, would you like anything?" There was some strange snoring in the background.

He smirked to himself. "Yes actually…"

A hand under the sheets moved. Cleo opened her lids and her blue eyes made the room seem colder. She sat up and her eyes widened.

There, on the end of the bed, was Phantom R. He was lying on his side and facing Cleo. The pose his was in made him look sassy and made Cleo blush a little. He was holding his head in one hand and a breakfast tray in the other.

"Bonjour, voulez-vous un petit déjeuner?" He leaned over with the tray still in hand.

Cleo stared at him and then laughed a little. "W-What?"

"I said: 'Hello, would you like some breakfast?' My french is not that good so I might have got it wrong." He shrugged but passed her the tray.

"Well thanks for the food." Cleo drank some of the orange juice. "Do you want any?" She offered.

Phantom R refused. "Nah I'm fine, Fondue might like some though."

The cheerful little dog drooled all over the floor at the sight of the sausage on the plate. "Ewww…..have some manners around a lady Fondue.." Phantom R shuddered at the sight of it.

Cleo tossed it down to him and he gulped it down with no rush.

Phantom R picked up the fork and put a slice of pancake on it. "Open wide." He said to Cleo.

She did as he said and he put the end of the fork inside her mouth. She grabbed the pancake with her teeth and then chewed on it. A sweet sensation of joy spread her face when she swallowed it.

"You want another piece?" He asked, holding up the fork.

Before she could answer there was a faint knock on the door. He stood up and went up to it. Cleo heard him take a deep breath and then open the door. "Oh it's you." He said. The sound of something tapping the floor came into the room. Remy poked his head around the wall, looking straight out the window.

"No no no Professor, she's over here." Phantom R turned him towards Cleo.

Remy used his walking stick to find the bed, he shakily sat on it and looked at her. "Bonjour, Cleo."

"H-Hi." Cleo waved.

"How are you feeling? Last night you had burst into tears."

"I'm fine Professor. I just had a brush with death that was all."

"Ah I see. Then it's good that you're fine. But I have one question for you Cleo."

"What is it?"

"Do you know this man?" Remy held up a picture of a brown haired man with glasses and blue eyes, Jean Francios.

Cleo nodded. "Yeah that's Cousin Jean."

Phantom R froze. She was related to Jean Francios?! That would explain the eye colour and the hair. But if she was related to Jean Francios then that means…..she was also a relative of Elizabeth and Marie.

"Just as I thought." Remy tapped his walking stick. "You both share the same bloodline."

"Yeah? What's so special about my bloodline?" She propped up her head against the pillow.

"You have royal french blood Cleo." Remy explained.

She put down her iPod and stared at him. "What?"

"That's right." He held her wrist and examined the faint blue veins. "Coursing through your veins as we speak is royal blood. This might have been kept from you, for reasons I cannot understand."

Cleo looked at Phantom R for any confirmation. "I'm not good at this stuff Cleo. I can't take it in as good as Marie or Vergier."

"L-Look pal. Cousin Jean isn't related to any royals that I know and anyway he's probably making a robot or something right now anyway-"

"Your cousin is in jail Cleo." Remy said.

Her hands suddenly started to shake and she stared with eyes deep in horrifying thoughts. Phantom R put his hand on her shoulder. "Calm down Cleo, it's okay."

"H-How…...why….why is he in jail?!" She shouted so loudly that the pigeons on the railing outside flew off.

"He tried to kill me and he brought up The Hanging Gardens of Babylon. He's-" Phantom R started.

"THAT was HIM?!" Cleo stood up quickly, backing away from the two men. "HE raised those gardens?! I thought you were talking about a different Jean Francios, not Cousin Jean!"

"Please Cleo, calm down." He raised his hands at her.

Remy stared at the wall for a minute. "I'm sorry." He said. "But…..where is she?"

"She's behind you Professor." Phantom R replied.

Remy turned around and faced the window. "Now Cleo, if you could just calm down a minute and-" Phantom R turned him towards Cleo. "...Oh. She's here? My mistake. Anyway, ….what was I saying?"

"You were trying to get her to calm down." He shook his head. "Nevermind I'll do it, she seems to trust me more anyway." He walked up to her, she tried to back up more but she ended up hitting the wall. "There's no need to be afraid of me Cleo." He took a lock of her hair and rubbed it through his fingers. "You're not afraid of a friend, hm?"

She looked at her pocket and fished something out. "I remember when we first met, you let me touch your hair." She held a string of red hair in her hand.

He took a closer look at it. "Is that…...my hair?"

She nodded.

"How on earth did you get it?"

"When you stood up I was still holding it and I guess I…..pulled it out. By accident of course."

"And you've still kept it with you?"

"Yeah."

"...That's a bit gross Cleo…"

Cleo lightly pushed him away and started brushing her hair. "Says the man who doesn't change his pants everyday."

"W-Wha- How did you.." He decided to avoid the subject, the professor was here after all. "Plus, I'm not a complete grown up man yet, I'm a young man."

"Young man, Grown up man, it's all the same to me." She slipped her fedora on. "Thanks for still keeping me in my clothes by the way."

He would have expected her to be a little peeved with him for doing that but he didn't question it. "That's okay…..I guess."

Remy was flailing his arms wildly. "What's happening? Is she okay? Did she pull your hair out? Am I still in the same building? Where am I? Did someone kidnap me?"

"Professor, please calm down I'm fine." Cleo leaned against the wall.

Phantom R looked at his bracelet. The dragon still had the look it did when he stole it. He put his hand on Cleo's shoulder. The bracelet shined and whispered: 'MURDERER'. He suddenly looked down at it. Was that real or just part of his imagination? And what did it mean by 'murderer'?

"Are you okay?" Cleo held both his cheeks with her hands.

He snapped out of it and blushed beneath her warm hands. "Y-Yeah…..yeah I'm fine."

"Okay if you say so." She went over to the desk and grabbed a spoon. She opened a bag of sugar and then scooped some onto the spoon, she put it into his mouth and left it there. "Enjoy that, you pig." She walked off.

He whipped it out of his mouth. "Hey! Just because I name my dog after a food doesn't mean I'm addicted it!" Remy tried to stand up but he grabbed him and faced him towards the door. "Over here Professor."

Loud knocking was being heard from down the hallway. "Charlie! Charlie!" Her voice got louder and the knocking did too.

Phantom R ran up to her and seized her wrist. "Stop! She might still be sleeping!" He whispered.

"At 11:30 in the morning?" She put her hands on her hips.

Suddenly there was some loud music being played next door. The tune was 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight'. The door wasn't locked. Cautiously Phantom R and Cleo creaked it open and peered into it. There, they saw Eric and Lois dancing and singing along to the song. It was like listening to birds squawking.

"~Innn the JUNGLE! The mighty junglee! The lion sleeps tonightt! AIEEEEEEE!~" Eric sounded like he was having an exorcism.

Phantom R covered his ears. "Make it stop…...MAKE IT STOP!"

Cleo dragged him outside and closed the door. The muffled cries of Eric's bad singing came from the door. "Let's…...never do that again.."

"Agreed." He replied.

Remy was feeling his way across the corridor. "What's happened? Has someone been murdered?"

"No Professor, it's just the constables trying to sing." He shivered.

"Is that what those constables call music? Why, if I had been there then I would have taught them a lesson or two." He loaded up his walking stick.

Cleo thought about this. "Speaking of lessons. How have you taught music to the students? Surely you couldn't know the quality of their work because of your blindness."

Remy stared into space for a minute and then he replied. "My students tell me what they have written on their reports and I say what they could have written down or whether it is good or bad. As for when they play, I rely on my senses. Since I'm close to them I can just about see how they're holding a violin or a cello or a trumpet. And I can listen to how they're playing the notes and point out their mistakes. I might not be as good as the other professors but I'm the best one they've got."

"That's pretty cool Professor."

Charisma rushed down the hallway, she was panting. She stopped and seized Phantom R's hand. "Y-You've got to come…...quickly!" She dragged him down the hallway.

"W-woah...hey!" He planted his feet firmly to the ground. "What's going on? Did something happen?"

Charisma shook her head frantically. "There's no time to explain, you have to see it for yourself!" She used all her strength to drag him through the corridor.

Cleo was holding Remy's hand and running down the hallway with him. "Please mon cherie, I can get down this hallway myself."

"No, I can't have you feeling your way through when Charisma wants us to hurry." She sped up as she said this.

Charisma led Phantom R into Hans's room and pointed to the TV screen. On there was an Italian woman showing a picture of a creepy wrinkled old lady. Phantom R felt a shiver go down his spine as he read the victim's name. 'Bibiana Adezzi'.

He read the subtitles. "Last night millionaire, Bibiana Adezzi, died of unknown causes. Officials have found no illness or any traces of drugs or alcohol in the body. It was thought that guests to the millionaire's party had all quickly left because of a power surge in the building. The only thing that had been stolen was Miss Adezzi's favourite pendant namely: The Pendant of Beelzebub.'

Phantom R remembered that line. '_They can't live forever, that necklace is their only hope.' _He quietly thanked the person who wrote the note. Bibiana Adezzi was cheating death but now, she could finally rest in peace.

"Meanwhile in other news. A mysterious force has been forcing people to suddenly fall into a deep sleep-" Hans turned off the TV.

He held his head. "Uggghhhhh…...can we just stay in for today..?"

Charisma kissed his forehead and stroked his hair. "My poor honey. He's having a hangover, the poor pickle."

Phantom R giggled a little bit but stopped when they were both looking his way. "I've never drunk before, so I don't know what it's like."

"That's good monsieur. Drinking is a bad bad habit." Remy patted his shoulder.

Hans got out his phone. "I think I have an idea of where the pendant of Sloth is."

"You do?" Phantom R came over to look at the piece of tech.

Hans gestured. Phantom R did nothing. He gestured again. Still no movement. "...I…..don't know how to work a phone.." He admitted.

Hans sighed and slided something on the touch screen. He brought up a map of Rome and pointed to some old barracks. "Castra Praetoria. The pendant of Sloth is supposed to hung outside these barracks."

A small quiet laughter filled the room. The group turned to find Cleo holding her mouth and giggling. "...S-Sorry...but what was that building again?"

"You mean the barracks-" He began.

Cleo laughed while holding her stomach. She rolled all over the floor laughing. "Y-You remember d-during world war two? ….The battles Italy fought?"

Hans stared at her. Then smiled and started laughing along with her. They both rolled around, cracking up with laughter. The others didn't understand why they were laughing. "I-Is there something funny?" Charisma asked.

"Do not worry my dear. I don't understand it either." Remy tapped his walking stick around for them. He followed the sound of their laughter and poked them both. "Now now, that is enough. A good laugh is always nice but we must focus on getting this pendant.

Hans nodded. "Y-Yes, sorry about that."

"That is good. Now get up and let's get going. Those sirens will get to it first if we don't hurry." He started to walk out but suddenly he walked head first into the wall. Cleo covered her mouth and giggled a little bit, as did Hans and Phantom R. Charisma helped him and pointed him towards the door.

Rome was in a eerie state. People were collapsed on the floor everywhere. Charisma scanned their bodies and confirmed that they were still alive, they still had a pulse. Why would people collapse on the ground like this? This isn't something that would happen everyday. Customers in coffee shops slumped over their tables, car doors flung open with people hanging out of them, children hugging the hop scotch on the ground. It was truly a sight that brought disturbance upon everyone. Remy started to yawn as they got closer to the barracks, he was becoming slower and slower. Soon enough he sat down beside a wall and didn't move.

"Master? Master?" Charisma shook Remy but he didn't move. "He's asleep…"

"I get the feeling if we get closer…...we're going to become drowsy.." Hans said.

"We gotta keep moving." Phantom R said.

They kept going, leaving Remy to sleep. After a while Hans held his head drowsily. He walked like a broken robot that was low on power. He laid down on the ground.

"Oh honey, not you too!" She knelt beside him.

"I-I'll be okay Charisma. Just go on without me. I'll try to fight the drowsiness for as long as I can.." His eyes were closing but he fought to keep them open.

Charisma lowered his head down gently. "Please stay awake, for me."

"Anything for you, Charisma." His eyes shut but he wearily forced them open.

Charisma stood up and walked off with the others. Charisma wasn't feeling any fatigue at all but Phantom R was starting to feel it. He was able to resist against it but some of the tiredness was getting to his head.

Then, there in sight, was the wall of the barracks. The dull stone made Phantom R's head hurt, or maybe it was because of his drowsiness. A blue glow emitted from the wall, it was small but some scanning from Charisma confirmed that it was the pendant of Sloth. "I can't quite make out the shape but it's the pendant alright."

Phantom R gave out a strong yawn. "S-Sorry guys…..I think it might have gotten to me too…"

Cleo held him. "Hang in there Raphael." Though admittedly she was starting to feel a bit tired too.

They made their way over to the pendant. The sleepy waves of the blue light passed over the three of them and made Phantom R feel more sleepy. He stopped and kneeled down.

"Oh no no no!" Cleo ran over to him. "Get up, please!"

Phantom R kept staring down at the ground. "...I...I..can't…...just...let me rest...please.."

Cleo shook her head furiously, trying to keep back the tears. "No! No! NO! Get UP!" She tried to pull him up.

"I won't be long…...promise.." He whispered.

"If you fall asleep then you'll never wake up again!" She shouted. He still didn't get up and looked like he was about to collapse onto the ground. She decided the only thing to do was carry him. She carried him the way a groom would carry a bride with one arm holding his legs and the other holding his back. He looked like a small child in his mother's arms.

"Cleo…..please….just let me sleep…" He pleaded quietly.

"Not on my watch Raphael! You're not sleeping. Hang in there!" She rushed up to the pendant with Charisma following behind. Fondue had already fallen asleep, he was not that far from the pendant.

The glowing pendant was almost in their grasp. Phantom R was dead to the world now. He breathed in and out calmly and slowly. Cleo was fighting to stay awake though her eyes were slowly closing.

"Come on Charisma. Grab it." She propped Phantom R's head up.

Charisma crooked her fingers towards the pendant. She snatched it up and felt a surge of energy go through her body as the pendant lost it's ice blue glow. A force spread from the pendant and grew all across Rome, it was short lived however as it disappeared after a few minutes. Charisma looked at the pendant. It looked like a blue pillow with a feather on top of it. She clasped it in her hand and turned back to Cleo.

Cleo thought that Phantom R looked so adorable when he was asleep. He cuddled up to Cleo sleepily, thinking that she was his mother.

He slowly opened his eyes and blinked. "...O-Oh….sorry Cleo.." He was still half asleep, but that just made him look even cuter.

"What for? It wasn't your fault that you fell asleep." She combed through his hair.

He gently brushed her hand away. "N-No….I meant, I thought you were my mom.."

"Oh….right.." Cleo sounded a little disappointed.

'Hey! Phantom!' They turned around and saw Hans, Remy, Charlie and Fondue running up to them.

Charlie stopped just a few inches away from Phantom R. "Well. I didn't know you were a mother's boy, Phantom R." She gave off the usual smirk.

"Oh shove off. I fell asleep for some strange reason and Cleo picked me up." He lept off Cleo. "She's more a saint to me than a clone of my mother."

Charlie rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I'm just glad you're okay."

"We couldn't have you falling into an eternal sleep here." Remy stepped forward. His sunglasses flashed in a strange way. "You are royalty after all." He said in a grim voice.

"W-What..?" Phantom R's voice went more quiet than usual, a foreboding feeling spread over him.

Remy held his head and wobbled around a little. "A-Ah. Forgive me, monsieur. Sometimes I go off into space."

Phantom R was shaking a little bit but he still kept a straight face. Royalty? He wasn't related to royalty. Was he? Was that one of the secrets his father had been keeping from him all this time? No. He had to focus on one thing first. And that was finding the cure for Marie and getting all the pendants.

Charlie started to head off. "Are you guys coming or what?" She smiled. "We've got some cheese fondue on the house."

Just as Charlie had expected, Phantom R's eyes went wild. "You have?!" He started running. "Come on Fondue!" They both ran off into the distance.

Charlie snickered. "How did you know that he liked fondue? The food I mean." Cleo asked.

"Charisma scanned him last night and told me. It was pretty useful information to be honest." She came up to her and patted her shoulder. "But don't worry mate. I won't give any of that information away to the constabulary."

They eventually caught up with Phantom R, who was alarmingly fast you'd swear he was a fox, and they all walked back to the hotel together. Everyone was laughing and chatting. Though a select few of the people of Rome had recovered from the curse they knew everyone else would wake up soon enough. The lights of Rome shined so brightly. It was like they were still in Paris. Warm, bright, golden Paris.

They came into a mysterious dark alleyway that had a dark feeling to it. Fondue was growling at it but the group didn't pay any attention.

"Hush Fondue. There's nothing down here." Phantom R told him.

Fondue whined. "I wouldn't put him down if I were you." Remy tapped his walking stick along the brick wall. "Dogs can sense danger you know."

"I guess so but I don't see anything dangerous down here…" He squinted his eyes down the alleyway.

Cleo shrugged. "Maybe he senses something else?"

Suddenly a wave of green light erupted from the ground. It started to dance around the group mystically. Then a gale force wind was blown into their faces. They held onto the wall and covered up their faces. "WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" A voice shouted.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Another yelled.

A ghostly woman with long red hair and glowing green eyes appeared. She was wearing a white ballet dancer outfit. She turned to Phantom R and uttered an incarnation while pointing at him. His eyes glowed green for a split second before he passed out, slumped against the brick wall.

"PHANTOM R!" She screamed and rushed towards him. The woman punched Cleo back so hard that she broke part of the brick wall off when she hit it.

"Cleo?! Are you alright?!" Charisma knelt down beside her. She turned around just in time to see the woman fly off with Phantom R in her arms.

Cleo immediately stood up. "Come back here!" She ran after the woman.

Everyone else followed her. They too wanted to save Phantom R from that woman. They stumbled onto the streets and found the woman high in the sky still flying away.

"We'll never catch up to her at this speed!" Charisma shouted.

"So what do you suggest?" Charlie asked.

Suddenly a car pulled up beside them. The window rolled down, it was Grace. "Hop in guys!" She said.

They didn't hesitate and jumped into the car. Cleo was buckling her seatbelt and holding Fondue on her lap.

"Who are you, Madame?" Remy put his walking stick at the side.

"The name's Grace. What about you folks?" She an alarming amount of tattoos going up her arms and a black tank top.

"Charlie" "I'm Charisma." "Hans." "Cleo" "My name is Professor Remy." "Woeuf!" The whole car replied.

Grace nodded and started driving. The car jolted around a little bit. She looked at Cleo through the car mirror. "I used to look as innocent as you kiddo. But that was just a disguise."

"What do you mean?" Cleo asked.

Her question would go unanswered as a gunshot sounded. The group turned to the left to see the sirens and Medusa chasing after them with guns and other weapons in their hands. Lulu smiled devilishly at Cleo.

"Father?!" A voice shouted. The group turned to the other side of the car and saw an even worse sight, Inspector Vergier and the constables were chasing after them too. Vergier shook his head sharply at Charlie.

"There's two armies coming right at us!" Charisma hid away in the car.

"What are we going to do?!" Hans exclaimed.

"I'll tell you what we're going to do…" Cleo lifted fedora up revealing her war ready face. "We're going to show them what we're made of!"

Everyone else stared at her, but then they knew it was the only way to save Phantom R. Cleo slipped on her knucklebusters, Hans loaded his robot hands, Charisma clicked her pistol, Charlie bounced her football, Fondue growled, Remy held onto his walking stick and Grace picked up a big spiked weapon.

And so began the craziest driving trip Cleo had ever been on.

**End of Chapter 13**


	14. Chapter 14: Leviathan The Prince

**I watched Marie's bonus chapter: Marie's Test, and….I have made a terrible mistake. (This fanfic takes place after Marie's Test) It turns out where Marie's Test was taken place was over a YEAR after she had said goodbye to Raphael. I am SO sorry for this guys! I should have looked at the bonus chapters before writing this! . Oh well….I guess I can change it to taking place before Marie's Test, it would make more sense. This fanfic is more based on the ending of Family Ties anyway (when Charlie discovers something in Les Invalides but the game doesn't let us see what it is). **

**It took me a pretty long time to think of how the next battle was going to work out. I was seriously straining my head and looking around wherever I went for ideas. Ah well, I do it for you readers so I don't regret making my head hurt :) Anyway, let's continue. **

She backed up. Her hand clenched the velvet plump couch tightly. The eyes she was looking upon were dead, sea green eyes.

"M-Mother…?" Marie stammered and swallowed.

Elizabeth's face still had the empty trance like expression. "..Where is he?" She repeated.

Marie kept staring at her. "I….I don't know…"

Elizabeth suddenly became angry and bitter. She strode up to Marie and held her throat tightly. She held Marie in the air, strangling her. "Don't LIE TO ME!"

Marie desperately tried to get the strong hands off her neck. "M-Mother..! P-Please...let me ...go!" She choked.

"I know that you're friends with my son! You were with him the day that those gardens fell! Now where is he?!" She demanded.

Marie could feel her eyes popping out. It seemed like everything in her body was ceasing to work all at the same time. "I-I…..don't..know…! H-He…..left..me..!" She wasn't far from death, her eyes were becoming red and bloodshot.

Elizabeth stared at her. "...You're useless." She let her fall to the ground.

Marie coughed and coughed and coughed. She breathed in and out loudly. Her neck was red with a hand marking on it. "J-Just…" She panted. "..Just who….are you..?"

She looked down upon her, and smiled a little bit. "I'm Raphael's mother." The green from her eyes disappeared and Elizabeth's body collapsed onto the soft carpet.

"M-Mother!" Marie kneeled down and shook her body. "Mother? Mother wake up! Please Mother! Please!" She started to cry.

Alfred burst the door open. He saw Elizabeth and gasped. "Your Grace?! Your Grace?!" He rushed over and cradled her head.

"Please tell me she'll be okay Alfred! Please tell me she's going to be alright!" She hugged him while crying.

Alfred gave her a pat on the back. "She'll be fine Marie, she'll be fine."

Marie looked up, and for a second saw Raphael looking back down at her. He had his same crimson hair and bright brown eyes. He gleamed down at Marie. She went to kiss him, like she had always wanted to do all those months ago. But another voice cut in. "Marie? Marie are you alright?" Instead of Raphael, there was Alfred. His brow furrowed in a concerning way.

Marie stared at Alfred for a minute, her eyes speaking a lot of sad emotions. Then her face shriveled up and she howled in tears, she dashed out of the room with her face in her hands.

She had always been playing the same song she had played to Raphael, Moon Princess. Every night she would get out her violin and play that song, expecting him to appear and embrace her. But he never did. He never appeared, he never hugged her, he never told her how much he missed her, he never praised her violin playing, he never got Fondue to take his hat up to her and then appear before her smiling. Maybe he had forgotten her after all. This made Marie even more sad.

After the song ceased Marie put away her violin and buckled up her case. She gracefully got into her bed and shut her eyes. But soon enough, tears started leaking out. She clenched her teeth to try and keep them at bay but it was no use. She started howling again. Crying for Raphael, her one and only phantom.

Elizabeth listened to the loud sobs upstairs. "...I think we should get him to come visit her Alfred." She said.

Alfred blazed up the fire and poked the black coal inside it with a poker. "I wish we could your grace. But I don't know where the man resides."

"We could probably track him down, he usually walks around Paris doesn't he?" Elizabeth added a sugar cube to her tea.

"Indeed your grace. But I only recognise him from his thieves clothes." He burnt himself and started sucking on his finger.

Elizabeth put down her tea cup and looked at him, smiling slightly. "She's been practicing that violin day in and day out. I fear she's getting too prideful of herself and her life."

"Whatever do you mean your grace? Marie is a nice girl to you and to me." Alfred said, a little shocked.

"I've overheard her bragging about how she owns an antique violin and how she can play any song on her violin. It's like…..Lucifer himself is possessing her.." Elizabeth shook with uneasiness.

"Maybe it's because she misses Raphael so much that envy and pride are intoxicating her and making her this way?" Alfred said.

"Maybe." The saucer made a 'clink' noise as she put the small fancy tea cup on it. "I'll be resting upstairs Alfred." As she left she stopped and said to Alfred. "We need that man Alfred. He is our only hope of freeing Marie from the shackles of envy and pride she's being tied down by."

Alfred nodded in agreement, and put out the fire.

"WHY IS LIVIN LA VIDA LOCA PLAYING?!" Cleo yelled as she deflected some more bullets.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Grace shouted back. She climbed out the roof window with a spiked bat in her hand. "DUCK!" She shouted. Cleo did so and Grace whacked the stone back at the sirens, it hit one their heads causing them to fall into the canal.

"You can put this thing on autopilot right?" Hans peered out the window.

"Yeah! You can!" Grace whacked some more stones away.

Hans pressed a button and the word autopilot flashed on the screen. He climbed out the car. "Alright! Come at us!" He got his robots hands out and prepared to fire.

Charisma helped Remy up onto the car roof. "Here you go master. Remember to keep your balance.

Remy aimed his walking stick. "Don't worry Charisma, I will be alright."

Fondue finally came onto the roof and growled at the two rival teams. "Woeuf! Woeuf!"

Charlie was already taking out some constables on a police car. She kicked her football with such force that the constables fell back and were hanging onto the car for dear life. She was doing great, until Vergier came along.

His cold and angry stare made her tremble a little bit. "Charlotte Vergier…" He said to her. He started walking up towards her, hanging onto the roof for balance.

Cleo saw this and started to jump over to the other car. "You guys take on the sirens, me and Charlie will take on Vergier and the other constables." She lept off. Vergier was closing in on Charlie, some handcuffs hanging out of his back pocket and swinging back and forth. "Hey!" She shouted at the inspector.

He turned around and glared. "Well, if it isn't the phantom thief's little apprentice? What makes you think you can just stroll in on family business?" He got out the cuffs. "I've been meaning to arrest you along with that disgraceful phantom thief."

Charlie jumped onto his back and put his arms around his neck. "Now! Kick him in the stomach!" Charlie yelled.

Cleo brought her leg up and did a sharp kick into the inspector's stomach, which made him lean over in pain.

A siren came onto the car roof and was walking towards Remy. The professor was shooting in the direction of their screams and shouts, but then he stopped and listened. He could hear the scraping of feet on the car roof and knew that something or someone was there. The heavy breathing and smell of lipstick confirmed to him that it wasn't Charisma or any of the other people on the car. He quickly turned around and clashed his walking stick with the siren's wooden spear. "Not today my rose." He blocked all of the shots from the spear and whacked the siren in the stomach, then sharply on the head and then in her face. He shook his head. "Not today.." The siren was on the edge of the car roof. Remy performed a sharp kick on her face and she was knocked off the car and tumbled into the road. He smiled to himself and then felt his way towards Charisma.

Charisma and Hans were fighting off the rest of the sirens. Charisma was taking out the ones in the distance while Hans was fighting the ones on the roof. The impact of the blows from his robot hands were incredible. Remy had never heard such a force from a unique weapon like that. Hans reloaded and then opened the tip of his finger on his left robot hand to reveal a gun. He shot at the constable's second car which caused it to spiral out of control and hit a building.

Charisma shot the rest with her pistol. Remy came up to her. "Charisma my dear, how many are there?"

She scanned the group in the distance. "There are 12 of them master." She replied.

He groaned quietly. "Then we must keep fighting." He fired from his walking stick at them. But it completely missed and hit the window of someone's house instead. Screams and shouts came from the house. Charisma looked at Remy. The poor professor himself was confused. "D-Did I hit them?"

Vergier lurched forward. "You two are tough nuts. But my duty as an inspector will not stop me!" He aimed for Charlie and tried to grab her.

She dodged out of the way and kicked him in the back. "Knock it off father!"

Vergier tumbled onto Cleo instead. "Aha!" She tried to escape but Vergier got a hold of her. "Finally! I've caught you! I'll swap you for Phantom R himself! There's no way he could ignore this!" He was about to put the cuffs on her hands when suddenly he screamed in pain.

Cleo crawled out of the hurt man's grasp and saw Fondue biting down on his leg. The dog smiled and barked happily at Cleo.

"Y-You...You little mutt!" He tried to catch Fondue but Charlie got in the way and stopped him.

"Charlie!" Cleo reached out for her.

Vergier was grabbing onto her and putting her arms behind her back. "Go! Don't worry about me!" She fought against her father.

"But Charlie-" She began.

"I said GO!" She shouted back at her.

Cleo lept across back to Grace's car with Fondue. As she jumped she swore she heard: 'Now you'll see what happens to people who go against the constabulary.'

Grace was throwing fireballs into the air and hitting them with her bat towards the sirens. "Take that you birds!"

"Woah! Wait a minute! Where did you get them from?!" Cleo pointed towards the fireballs in her hand.

Grace whined in pain. "Hans made them. From an electric wire and a few pieces of wood made into sphere shapes. I gotta throw them, they're burning me." She tossed another and whacked it.

With one member captured the rest of them had to fight off the sirens. Everyone was firing, punching, kicking, biting, it was like a big rumble between gangs. The group was worn out and tired by the time the sirens decided to retreat. They all ran like a bunch of cowardly dogs. Medusa gave one last losing glare at them before she disappeared into the shadows with the others.

The group was silent as the whizzing car kept going, then they gave a cheer of triumph. They had drove off the sirens, probably once and for all. Grace was doing the most cheering out of all of them, she was practically screaming for France.

"Uhh...Grace...calm down a little bit will you?" Cleo backed up a little bit.

Grace grumbled. "Fine…" And got back into the car.

The rest of them followed, buckling their seatbelts and panting. Everyone except Charisma was sweating and tired. "Umm….master? What's this emotion that you and the others are showing?"

"It's called….exhausted Charisma my dear…" Remy replied, gasping for air.

"Oh…...thank you master." Charisma bowed a little bit.

Fondue perked up and barked. "Fondue? What's wrong?" Cleo looked where he was looking and saw the ghostly woman above.

She was combing through the unconscious phantom's hair and gave him a little peck on the cheek. "G-Guys! There's that woman!" As she shouted and pointed the woman looked in their direction and then started gliding off again.

Grace stepped up the gas and sped after her. The car weaved in and out of the motorway desperately trying to catch up to her.

The woman turned around and summoned some big grey rocks, boulders. She rolled them down the road towards the car.

"Ah! Look out!" Charisma squealed and pointed.

Grace swerved the car away from the rolling boulder. The lady threw another one, and another, and another. "This ghost really wants Phantom R doesn't she?!" Grace said through gritted teeth.

"I don't even know who she is or what she wants with him!" Cleo held her head.

She kept going further up the motorway. Grace saw a sign out of the corner of her eye and read it. She whispered something under her breath. "Well guys, it looks like we're in Austria.."

Austria. A rich country full of musical taste and inspiring works. But they weren't here for sight seeing, they were here for Raphael.

They followed the mysterious woman into a nearby town where she went inside a strange building. Fondue leaped out of the car and went inside. Cleo followed after with the speed of a cheetah.

"She really does care about him doesn't she?" Grace got out and ran after her.

Charisma helped Remy out. "Come on now Master. We've got to save Raphael!"

They ran inside and saw a foreboding sight. The whole room was lit by dim candles that shined shadows onto the dark cobblestone walls. Red carpets draped the walls and made the room look vamperific.

But their eyes were not drawn to the room, they were drawn to what was at the end of it. A beautiful pale bed with a plumped up pillow laid at the end of the room. Moonlight poured in from the surface and shined on it. And there, lying on it, was Phantom R. He was holding a red rose to his chest while still lying down, his eyes were still closed.

Cleo ran up to him. "Raphae-" The woman appeared before her and kicked her back with huge amount of force.

"Cleo!" Grace knelt down beside her. "Cleo?! Are you okay?!"

The lady held Phantom R's hand. "You shouldn't touch something that's not yours without permission." Her voice was flowing and clear like water in a stream.

Cleo got back onto her feet. "W-What?"

"He's mine. He's mine and pure." She stood up slowly. "He's been out in that dark world for too long. But now, he can finally rest."

"What are you talking about?" She trembled. "You don't mean…..he's going to die do you?"

She nodded. "His father left him, I died in a car accident. He must be going through a great deal of pain."

"You died in a car accident?" She suddenly remembered that story Raphael had told her. "W-Wait…...are you his mum?"

"That is correct. I still seek the man who killed me to this very day." She said.

Cleo stared at her and shook her head with tears in her eyes. "You can't! You can't kill him!"

"Oh but I can. I must. He hasn't even found someone to love yet." She sat down beside him. "But, no matter. He can be in heaven with me now." She leaned forward to kiss him on his forehead.

"NO!" Cleo shouted.

"He loves Cleo!" Charisma stepped forward.

The lady froze and looked up. "H-Huh?"

She swallowed, though she was a robot she was still afraid of this ghostly figure. "H-He loves Cleo."

"...Cleo..?" She studied the group. "Which one of you is Cleo?"

Remy put his hand on Cleo's shoulder. "She's right here madame."

The woman walked up to her, making her red hair gently flow as she did. She took her chin and stared deep into her eyes. Cleo felt a little dizzy but managed to keep eye contact. "...Your past is riddled with violence and dark times…" Cleo shuddered, how did she know that? "...But….I can see that you've been treating my son well."

She was astonished. "S-So…..you'll let him live?"

The woman silently sighed and shook her head making her soft red hair form a curl on her forehead. It was the same curl Raphael had. "I will. But one bad move and he's coming with me."

Cleo covered her mouth, she was on the verge of tears. But she shook them off and thanked her instead. "How do I wake him?" She went over to the bed.

"Kiss him." The lady said.

"Where do I kiss him?"

She slid her finger over her lips slowly. "If my son truly loves you, then he'll wake up."

Cleo stared down at him for a moment. His pale complexion and red hair spread across the pillow made him look like someone from a fairytale. She stooped down and got closer to his face. Then, she closed her eyes and kissed him. His lips felt warm and supple. She got the feeling that he had never kissed anyone like this in his life. For a brief moment, Cleo felt happy. Probably the happiest she had ever been. She wanted this wonderful moment to last forever, just their lips touching and their hearts swelling with romance. But, sadly, everything must come to an end.

The moment she pulled away Phantom R fluttered his eyes open. He smiled sleepily at Cleo. "H-Hey…" He said in that sweet like honey voice that Cleo always remembered.

She embraced him and they both gazed into each other eyes. A tearful sniff interrupted them. "I-I...never thought I would be able to see my son this happy…" The woman sniffed again.

Phantom R gave her a cold stare. "You kidnapped me….why?"

"I wanted you to be with me. Isn't it bad enough that my darling Issac left you?"

His expression dramatically changed. "W-Who are you?" He sounded a little frightened.

She glided over to him and held his two shoulders. "I'm Cerise. I'm your mother Raphael."

"W-What?" He tried to stand up but his legs wobbled and made him meet the floor. Cleo helped him up and put his arm over her shoulder. "Y-You can't be my mom…...she's dead.."

"Look at me Raphael. You have my big eyes and my red curl on your forehead." She was right, her and Raphael did look pretty similar to each other.

"N-No….NO!" He was shaking. "You're not my mother! She's DEAD! She died in a car accident when I was a kid!"

"Calm down Raphael." Cleo sat him down and tried to reassure him.

"B-But there's this woman in front of me who claims she's my mom! No one can ever replace her! NO ONE!" He yelled.

Tears pricked Cerise's eyes. "He's in an angry state because of the spell I cast over him. Luckily, I have a cure to that." She went over to a dark corner of the room and came back with what looked like a baby bottle. There was some white shining liquid in it. Cleo thought it was milk at first but there was a bright aura surrounding it and making it sparkle.

"Get him to drink this, it will make him feel less angry and better." She handed it to Cleo.

Cleo got Phantom R to lie his head on her shoulder while her arm propped him up. "W-What is that?" He stared at it in horror. "What are you trying to give me?!"

"It's okay Raphael. It isn't going to hurt you anything." She offered the bottle to his mouth.

"No no no! I'm not drinking that! You can't make me!" He tried to struggle out of Cleo's hold.

Cleo forced the bottle to him while he kept shaking and backing away violently. Finally she held his head and got him to hold still. "Just do this for my sake Raphael." Cleo said softly. He shouted and Cleo plunged the top of the bottle into his mouth.

He tried to pull it out but Cleo was stronger than him and kept it inside his mouth. After a while he started sucking on the end of the bottle and drinking the shiny white liquid. It made him stop struggling and lie on Cleo's shoulder, he even held the bottle where Cleo's hand was. He looked like a cute little baby, gently sucking from a milk bottle and blinking his eyes constantly. They stayed there in silence with only the sound of breathing.

The bottle was empty so Cleo pulled it out of his mouth. He was cuddling her again but this time, he was awake while doing so. She stroked him gently and softly.

After a while he sat back up and looked at Cerise. "S-So…." He began. "Are you really my mom?"

Cerise took his hands. "Yes, I am your mother. I came to Italy to find you."

He stared at her for the longest time, taking in everything. He stared down at the ground and started crying a little bit.

"Oh no no darling! Don't cry!" She pulled him into a hug. "It's alright now. I must have given you quite the shock from rising from the dead."

"B-But mom! You didn't have to die like that!" He hugged her back and put his face into her shoulder. "If you had just listened to dad and not gone to that concert!"

"Shh shh. Calm down my son." She replied.

He sniffed and dried his eyes. "I just don't understand it. You spent more time with me than dad did. He was always so busy in that basement making forgeries." His voice still sounded croaky.

Cerise frowned in a painful way. "Issac was only doing it to keep you alive. If he hadn't had made those forgeries and sold them, you would have died Raphael." She looked away from him. "And then they made him work longer and harder to make those disgusting artwork copies until eventually, they took him away from you."

"P-Please don't remind me mom." He said.

Cleo hugged him. "I feel so sorry for you Raphael."

"I-It's okay, I've learned to live with it for the past few years." He gave a little sobful laugh.

"Cousin Jean loves me very much, he was the only one in the family who actually paid attention to me instead of treating me like a piece of furniture. I remember visiting his convent once, when I was a little girl." She beamed down at him. "Don't worry Raphael. You'll find your father."

He tried to smile but he shook his head instead. "No. It's not just me anyone. I've got friends who know my secret and my mother by my side. I won't find him." He grabbed Cleo's hands. "We will find him."

"Yes!" Hans cheered. "Team Rapheo for the win!"

They looked at him with narrowed eyes. "You ship us too?" Phantom R sighed.

"How can't I? You two make the perfect couple!" He clapped his hands together.

Cerise took Phantom R's wrist and looked at his bracelet. "The Bracelet of Tiamat…" She murmured. "This simple piece of jewellery has more than meets the eye you know."

"Yeah, it has the ability to levitate objects off the ground doesn't it?" Phantom R agreed.

"It's not just that. It has a hidden ability that can only be granted by the undead." She bit her lip.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

She rose up and let her red hair fall, it was so long that it made a small red puddle of hair on the ground. "I can grant you the use of a specific demon, along with it's pendant."

"You can?" He stood up as well.

She nodded. "Leviathan, the demon of Envy. That bracelet is supposed to represent him."

"So….you can give me Leviathan?"

"Yes I can."

"Could you do it now?"

She closed her eyes and chanted an incarnation. Phantom R couldn't understand it but Hans confirmed to him afterwards that it was Hebrew. "בואו נסיך עכשיו שטני של גיהינום.." She chanted this over and over again. Suddenly water poured into the room. It kept building and building until eventually the whole room was underwater. Phantom R looked around him for any sight of the others, suddenly a black figure started swimming through the water towards him. It looked like a giant snake, maybe even a basilisk. As it got closer it's details and features became more legible. Scales shined in the grimy waters, a yellow eye stared at Phantom R. This was not a giant snake, it was a sea monster.

The whole room was suddenly, And I do mean suddenly, drained of all the vile liquid. All that was left in the room was the group and a scary looking sea dragon looking down upon Phantom R. This was him, Leviathan, the demon of Envy. He bent his head down and let Phantom R stroke his scaly head. He wrapped his tail around him and presented him with the pendant around his neck. Phantom R took a closer look at it. It was an eye with a green jewel in the middle of it. The chain that was holding it was the shape of ivy and painted gold. The pendant of Envy.

Phantom R took it off of his neck. "Thanks buddy." Leviathan lowered him down and then went inside his bracelet.

Cerise smiled. "It seems like he's taken a liking to you already."

"Heh heh. He is pretty cool mom." Phantom R grinned while looking down at his bracelet.

Everyone went outside to bask in the moonlight. The beautiful landscape of Austria greeted them. The wind whistled through the trees and the dark fields.

He closed his eyes and listened to it. After all that he had been through he needed the sound of the calm breeze to reassure him.

He thought everything would be fine now. They just needed to find the rest of the pendants and find the cure for Marie. It couldn't be that hard right? Oh….if only it were that easy.

A agitated and frightened voice cried through the ghost town. His eyes flew open. He recognized that voice. There was no mistaking the poshness or proper way this person was using it.

It was Jean Francios.

**End of Chapter 14**


	15. Chapter 15: Old Enemies, New Wounds

**I had a sore throat when I started writing this chapter. Damn North Pole weather, coming down here and making me ill. I might take a bit longer to publish these because of my sore throat and runny nose. But in other news, I've got a new addition to the family! I won't give any more details for privacy reasons, but a newborn on board is a great thing to have :) Though I might be taking some time away from this to take care of the newborn, just a little warning for you readers. But anyway.**

He was coming. Phantom R could feel it. The sound of feet running across cobblestone, panting, sweating, he could practically smell the fear. Whatever Jean Francios was running from, it was terrifying him.

Finally he emerged from the darkness, in his normal clothes? Did the prison actually let him wear his normal clothes behind bars? That was a bit strange.

Jean Francios panted and panted. He pushed his hair back and looked up.

Cleo ran up to him immediately. "Cousin Jean!"

He smiled at her. He knelt down to her height and hugged her. "Hello mon cherie. How have you been doing my little darling?" He shot a sly smile at Phantom R.

"Oh I've been doing great Cousin Jean! My parents haven't changed though." She pulled away and looked at him.

He frowned. "I don't think they ever will change Cleo." Phantom R had never seen Jean Francios as family orientated, not after what he did to Marie. "But don't worry, I'll always care about you."

Cleo beamed and then gestured to Phantom R. "Cousin Jean, this is Pha-"

"I know exactly who he is Cleo." Jean Francios turned dark and strode confidently up to Phantom R. The two glared at each other. "Long time no see, Raphael."

He sharply pushed him away. "What makes you think you can show your dirty face in my presence?"

Jean Francois expected this reaction. He gave the same sly smile. "I see that you still hate me. Marie gave the same reaction when she came to visit me."

"Of course I still hate you! Don't you realise how much destruction and dismay you caused everyone?" Phantom R stared angrily.

"Ah but I did it in the name of progress." He proudly said, hand on his chest.

"Pfft. 'Name of progress' my foot." He turned away from him.

"Guys! Can you two just please get along with each other?" Cleo asked. She turned to Jean Francios. "Cousin Jean, can't you apologise for raising The Hanging Gardens of Babylon?"

"Oh he's told about that has he?" He gave a small laugh. "I expected him to. I raised those gardens to bring new order to Paris. There's nothing to apologise for."

"Oh pfft!" Phantom R sputtered loudly. "So attempting to kill me, Marie and everyone in Paris is nothing to apologise for?"

"Like I said. Name of progress." He tilted his glasses so that they glinted in the moonlight.

Phantom R clenched his fists. "T-That's it.." He lunged at Jean Francios and started beating him to the ground.

The two kept slugging, kicking, punching and even headbutted each other. Jean Francios was older and stronger than the 18 year old and beat him down.

Cleo tried to separate the two. "GUYS THAT'S ENOUGH!" Jean Francios threw one last punch at Phantom R and it knocked him out cold.

The black abyss that was staring at him didn't last very long. He woke up in a strange bed that had a plain white blanket over it. Doctors, Nurses and patients were in the room with him. Was he in a hospital? He sat up and tried to move but a sharp pain stabbed his face. His hand went on his right cheek, swollen. He had a machine that was tracking his heartbeat beside him. The green line went up frequently, getting faster and faster. Raphael didn't like this atmosphere. Had he been seriously hurt by Jean Francios? What happened with the others? Was Cleo okay? Did he harm her? His heart rate became faster and faster as these thoughts came in. He started shaking. He looked around for Cleo, Fondue, Charisma, Hans, anybody that he knew. He was hyperventilating. His heartbeat was going above the roof now. He hear the machine beeping frequently.

"Relax." A soothing voice said and pushed his head back down onto the pillow carefully.

"W-What? Who are you?" He asked.

"Shh" She put her finger on his lips. "Calm down and lie back. There. That's a good boy."

He breathed in and out, slowly and calmly. "Where am I?" He asked finally.

"You're in a hospital in Austria. We're lucky to have found you, that man could have done serious damage to your head." The nurse said.

That man? She didn't mean Jean Francios did she? "Y-You mean…...that man who knocked me out?" He touched his cheek again.

"Yes. After he knocked you out he tried to kick you in the head according to your friends. But then someone stopped him….Cleo I think her name was?" She pondered.

"C-Cleo..?" He felt ice piercing his chest. He didn't want to believe it, but everything lined up perfectly with his theory. "I-Is….she here?"

"Yes. She's currently resting." The nurse answered.

It was true. He had hurt Cleo. He had probably beat her up the same he did with Raphael! Jean Francios was a violent man, Raphael would never forgive him for this. "W-Where is she?" He tried to stand up.

The nurse went to push him back down. "Don't worry she's alright-"

"I said, where is she?!" He shouted back at her.

The nurse jumped back in shock. "S-She's in the bed next to you. But I wouldn't disturb her if I were you…"

The moment he stood up he saw that he was indeed in patient clothes. The top and the trousers were both pristine blue. He looked around and saw that everyone had the same outfit, just in different colours.

He limped over to the next bed and sharply pulled back the curtain. There, as the nurse said, was Cleo. But…..she didn't look too good. There were cuts all over her face and her forehead and neck were bruised.

Raphael sat down beside her and shook her a little bit. "Cleo? Cleo?" He whispered to her.

Her heart rate was slow. The green line beeped about 5 seconds apart. She wearily opened her eyes and looked at him. She was wearing a purple patient outfit. "R...Raphael…?" She held her hand up to his face.

"Y-Yeah it's me…" He smiled back and stroked her. "How have you been huh?"

"Cousin Jean…...he tried to kick you….but I held him back…..and then he…..hurt me…" She gestured to her bruises and cuts.

A painful expression crossed his face. "I-I….I shouldn't have lunged at him. If I didn't then none of this would have happened."

"It's okay, it's okay." Her voice was so wistful. "Cousin Jean did dig a bit too deep. I mean, who launches gardens that kill people and doesn't bat an eye while doing so?"

The doctor walked over with a clipboard in his arm, he scribbled something on it and then turned to Raphael. "I see the young man has awoken. I'm sorry sir but you'll need to be going back your bed."

"Why?" He cocked his head.

"We're about to perform an operation on this girl."

Raphael had the same expression as Cleo. "You're doing...what?!" She exclaimed.

"You see Miss Valice…" The doctor sat down. "You have a broken rib cage. Don't panic though it's only one bone and it can be easily put back together. We just have to do a little operation on you."

"Famous last words." Cleo laughed a little bit.

"Indeed…" He went to the side table next to her and got out a syringe. "We must sedate you first however.

Cleo looked horrified at the sight of the glinting sharp needle. She sat up quickly and started to back away. "Y-You're not actually going to inject me with that are you?"

"We must Miss Valice. Unless you'd like to do the operation awake." The doctor replied.

She cuddled up to Raphael. "B-But I don't want to have a sharp needle puncturing my skin! Please Raphael, tell him I don't want to!"

"Cleo calm down. Everything's going to be alright." He hugged her.

"No no no! He's going to prick me! I don't want him to!" She shrieked.

"Nurses, we need a little help here." Two nurses came and pulled Cleo away.

Cleo screamed and was kicking and punching them. "GET AWAY FROM ME! GET AWAY!"

"We need more help here!" One of them yelled. Three other nurses came and pinned her down. It took at least seven of them to hold her in place.

"NO! NO! LET GO OF ME! RAPHAEL! RAPHAEL HELP ME! PLEASE!" She pleaded to Raphael and held out her hand to him. "HELP ME! TELL THEM I DON'T WANT THIS OPERATION! TELL THEM RAPHAEL! TELL THEM!"

Tears formed in his eyes. He wanted to pick her up and carry her out of here, he couldn't bear to see her crying and suffering like this. But he knew he couldn't. He had to sit back and continue watching her screaming.

"RAPHAEL! PLEASE!" She was sobbing loudly.

He held her hand. "It's okay, just look away Cleo."

"No….I don't want this..! I want to go away with you!" She wept and sniffed. Her eyes were bleeding with tears.

He was nearly crying himself. "Just….look away…..don't think about the needle."

"I don't want them to sedate me. I want to run away back to Paris with you by my side-" Before she could say anymore the needle broke through her skin and she screamed.

It was the most piercing and hurtful scream Raphael had ever heard. He felt shocked by it. It sounded like an animal had just been shot and was now crying in pain because of it.

She was weeping in agony. Raphael stroked her hair back. "It's okay Cleo, it's all over now."

"No….No…..Raphael...just take me back home with you please...I don't want to be here.." Her sobs kept getting in the way of her voice.

"Shh shh. It'll be alright." He softly said to her.

Her face suddenly went straight and as her eyes closed the crying ceased. She looked like a emotionless corpse lying on the bed.

"We'll take it from here. You'd best return to your bed young man." The doctor gave him a reassuring smile.

He sadly nodded and turned away from her. A nurse escorted him back to his bed and before he knew it, he was alone. He wiped his eyes with a shaking hand. That was too painful to see. Cleo lying on the bed, pale and motionless. He looked at the curtain beside him and saw the silhouettes of some nurses wielding some strange instruments as they continued their operation.

Charisma came rushing in along with Hans, Remy and Grace. Fondue jumped up onto the bed and licked Raphael's face. "Hey there boy! Did you miss me?" Fondue barked and whined. "Me? Nah, I'm okay."

"How are you feeling Raphael?" Remy asked and sat down beside him.

He sighed. "Not too good Professor. Cleo had to have an operation and the doctor had to sedate her. She was crying and yelling for me to come and help her but I…...I was powerless.."

"Wow…..she really does love you." Grace said.

Raphael blushed angrily. "She….She doesn't love me.."

"Oh come on. She cried out for you and you two looked so cute when you danced together back in Italy." Hans smiled at the memories.

"Wha- How did you know about that?" Raphael sat up straight in his bed.

"You don't think that everyone's eyes were drawn to you two? You were waltzing like you were professionals." He giggled. "And that little proposal you tried to do was cute too."

"I-It wasn't-" He shook his head. "Ugh, nevermind! Anyway, I hope that Cleo comes out soon and that she's happy and well."

"She probably will not be happy seeing as how she had to be sedated.." Remy put his rose into his front pocket.

"U-Umm….what happened after Jean Francios knocked me out?" He squeezed his cheek tightly.

"Well, he tried to kick you in the head but Cleo jumped on him and stopped him from doing so. Then he called Cleo a traitor and started beating her up. They both put up a good fight but Jean Francios got the upper hand by using a shard of glass to cut her. Charisma eventually separated them both and knocked Jean Francios out. Cleo fainted from unknown causes. We got Cleo and you off to the hospital." Remy said.

He nodded. "And what about Jean Francios?"

"I don't know. I thought Charisma had knocked him out but when I looked out the ambulance window…...his body was gone.." Remy looked down with an uncomfortable look on his face.

Oh no, he was still out there. He didn't want this. Think of how many lives would be lost by the crazy inventions he would come out with.

Raphael was free to go out of the hospital but was told to take care of his cheek seeing as how it was still swollen. Charisma passed an ice pack to him and he held up to his cheek. They all waited outside the room for Cleo to come out. One question pressed on his mind. Where was Jean Francios now? Was he arrested and put back into prison? Raphael hoped so. He deserved it after what he did to Cleo. Beaten and bruised like that, disgusting.

The doctor came out to the group. "We've mended her rib." He said.

They all gave a sigh of relief and started to head towards the ward but the doctor stopped them. "You shouldn't all go in at the same time. It could put some pressure on her."

Raphael stepped forward. "I'll go in and see her. We've got somewhere to stay right?"

"Yeah, I've got a home here in Austria." Grace said.

He nodded. "Okay, I'll see you guys later." He waved and followed the doctor into the room.

The doctor pulled the curtain back and revealed Cleo to him. She was in her normal clothes and lying back with her eyes closed.

"I'll leave you here with her." The doctor said, and went away to check on the other patients.

Raphael gazed upon the girl that laid before him. He leaned over and shook her.

"If you're my mum, go away." She said.

Raphael jumped back a little bit. "A-Actually, it's just me…"

Her eyes immediately opened and she sat up. The two stared at each other for a while. Cleo brought her hand slowly up to his face and touched his hair. Her face crumpled up and she hugged him. "Why…..why did you let them do that to me?" She cried.

"Hush….it's okay now. They had to do that so you could be able to walk around with me again." He massaged her head.

"B-But they stuck a needle in me and-"

Raphael put his finger on her lips. "Don't remind me, please."

She pushed it away and nodded silently.

"So?" He held out his hand to her. "You wanna ditch this hospital and go explore Austria?"

Cleo said yes, of course, and they left the hospital.

They figured out that they were in Austria's capital city, Vienna, after looking at the hospital sign. But that didn't deter the fact that the buildings looked strikingly similar to the ones in Paris. The gothic look to them and the pale yellow bricks that were used to make them were no mistake, they were the same. The two walked around shopping centers and saw the sights. It was nice to see a smile on Cleo's face again. The shiny pavement below them glowed in the sunlight.

Raphael stopped. He stood in front of a neat little coffee shop with no customers inside, which was pretty strange.

"Shall we go in here? It looks nice." He shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Yeah sure." She smiled and nodded.

Raphael held the door open for her and went inside.

The cafe was homely and warm with a blazing fire at the side. The walls were made of pure ebony wood and the floor had a red carpet on it. Chairs and coffee tables were dotted around the room, just like a normal cafe.

Raphael felt a surge of energy go through his body as he entered. He looked and saw that there was a mystical force field blocking anyone else from entering. "Wha-" He felt a hand go on his shoulder.

He thought it was Cleo but then a familiar flowing voice spoke to him. "Hey there, darling. How have you and the girl been?"

"M-Mom!" He spun round and saw the young ghostly woman.

"That's right honey, it's me. I made this cafe just for you two." She floated over to the counter where the coffee grinders were.

"You did?" He waved his hand over the wooden counter.

"Yep. Use it wisely though, it took nearly all my energy to make." She left the water to boil and gestured to some stairs on the left. "This room up here is reserved for you two." Cerise led them upstairs.

It was soaked with dim candlelight and it had a window that showed the outside world of Vienna before their very eyes. A small dinky table with a rose in a vase placed on top of it was in front of them. Cerise sat them both down. "Take a look at the menu and tell me what you'd like once you've decided." She gave a wink to Raphael and then dashed back downstairs.

Cleo gave a little giggle. "This is all so fancy! Your mother is so nice to make this for us."

He gave a little 'mhm' before reaching into his pocket. "This seems like a very romantic setting."

"Yeah, it reminds me of Paris." She stared out the window.

He pulled something out and clasped it in his hand. "Paris is beautiful, but there's something else that's more stunning to look at."

"And what's that?" Cleo asked, turning to face him.

Raphael took her hand and tried to kiss it but ended up holding it against his chest. Cleo felt his heart beat, it was pounding. His hands were becoming more sweat soaked with every beat. "C-Cleo…...I'm sorry….I'm never good with this kind of stuff…"

"What's wrong Raphael?" She saw his skin turning more pale than usual.

"I-I...umm…..I...feel like I've grown to like you ever since that day we met…." He closed his eyes and exhaled out his nose. "And….I might…..just...like you…..more than a friend."

"W-What…" Cleo stood up. "What are you saying Raphael?"

Fondue growled and prompted Cleo to sit back down again. "F-Fondue….don't growl at her like that…"

"R-Raphael…." Cleo was shaking a little bit. "A-Are you going to say w-what I think you're going to say?"

He nodded slightly, unsure of what she was thinking of. He took a lock of his hair into his hand. "I-I…" He shook his head. "I'm sorry…...I can't say it…..I'm scared you'll say no.."

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Cleo hugged him tightly.

Raphael froze and looked down at her. "U-Uh...Cleo…?"

She let go of him. "O-Oh…..were you going to ask what I think you were going ask?"

"I-I don't know…..what did you think I was going to ask you?" He leaned forward.

Cleo was about to say something when suddenly Cerise came upstairs with a serving tray and a cup of tea in her hand. "Hey there sweetie, here's some tea I brewed up for you." She placed it on the table.

"O-Oh….thanks Mom.." The steam emitting from the tea just made him even more nervous.

She looked down at Raphael's legs and smiled. "You know, you used to always try and copy my ballet moves."

"M-Mom….don't bring that up.."

"You were always twirling around and trying to keep your leg in the air. It looked so cute." She swooned. "Sometimes I've seen you still trying to do it today."

"I...I only do that when I'm bored.." He hid his face in his sweater.

Cerise came round and gently lifted his head up. "You could show Cleo some of your moves."

"N-No….she's not into ballet.." He jerked his head away.

"I don't mind." Cleo said. "It might be cute to see some of your ballet moves."

"Hnn.." He whined.

Cerise elbowed him lightly. "Come on honey! There's no shame in it."

Raphael stayed still for a moment, then he stood up and went to the other side of the room. He crossed his legs. "I'm only doing this for Cleo, mom.." He muttered. He put his two hands together and spun round on one leg.

Cerise gasped and clapped. "Oh wonderful darling! Simply wonderful!"

"Wow, great skills you got there Raphael." Cleo smiled.

He stopped and bowed slightly. "T-Thanks…..I guess.."

"Oh come now! You could grow up to be like me one day." She took both his hands into hers.

Raphael pulled them away. "I'd rather stick to freestyle dancing thanks." He said rather rudely.

Cleo cracked her knuckles which made both of them turn towards her. "I don't see a reason to be rude to your mother Raphael.."

Everyone went silent with only the muffled sounds of the streets outside. He was being a bit rude to her, and it was unnecessary too. What a childish move. He blushed with embarrassment. "S-Sorry…..mom.." He apologised reluctantly.

"It's okay darling. I understand that you miss me very much." She hugged him.

"Y-Yeah…" He swallowed.

They both had their tea break, though Cleo demanded coffee, and bid farewell to Cerise as they went out.

Once they turned around to see the coffee shop all that remained was a broken down ugly building that looked like it hadn't been used in years.

"Well, she wasn't joking when she said she used her energy to make it." Cleo snuggled Raphael.

He hugged her with no hesitation. "The sun's beginning to set. Should we go to Grace's house?" He paused. "Wait…..where is her house?"

Grace hadn't given him directions to where her home was. They were completely lost when suddenly a familiar light greek voice shouted out to them. "Raphael! Cleo!" Charisma's hair was waving wildly as she rushed up to them.

"Oh hey Charisma." He waved.

She showed no sign of panting or tiredness, well, she was a robot after all. "My master told me to track you and show you back to Grace's house. And thank goodness I found you."

"Why?" He shifted his eyes. "What's so important that you had to run to us?"

"While I was tracking you I found some red dots on my map. That means there's enemies nearby." She said.

Thank goodness indeed. Raphael didn't want to face any bad guys in his normal clothes.

"Come with me, I'll show you to Grace's house." She started to walk off.

Raphael held Cleo's hand. "Let's go, Lady Marmalade." His feet collided with the pavement softly as he walked.

**End of Chapter 15**


	16. Chapter 16: Goodbye

Grace's house didn't match her personality. It was a pretty little house with flower boxes outside it and a chimney with smoke coming out of it. Orange bricks were what kept the house standing.

"It looks lovely doesn't it?" Charisma interrupted their thoughts. "My master says that he wasn't expecting a rough girl like Grace to have such a home."

Inside was looking as smart as the front. The walls were painted different colours with the living room a bright red and the kitchen a deep blue. Everything looked pretty and posh.

Grace was applying some lipstick. "You got them Charisma?"

"Yes I did, they're both safe." She bowed slightly.

She propped up the mirror and looked at Raphael through it. His brown eyes shined in the light that the mirror was reflecting. "So how did your date go?"

"It wasn't a date." He replied.

"..Okay. So how did your 'meeting' go?" She put on some eye shadow.

"It went…..ok I guess." He shrugged.

Grace gave a little 'Hm' before going back to putting on her make-up.

Remy laid back on the sofa and tapped his walking stick around. It collided with a can of fizzy which caused it to fall on the floor and spill everywhere. "Oh! Professor!" Hans sighed and picked the can up.

"Hm?" Remy sounded alert. "What? What did I do?"

"Nevermind…" He walked out and went into the kitchen.

Remy was awfully confused. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Don't worry about it Professor." Grace assured him.

Raphael and Cleo stared at them both. "Shall I show you to your rooms?" Charisma asked. She still had her lobbyist programming in her.

"Yeah sure." Cleo said. "But I get the biggest bed!" She ran upstairs before Charisma could even begin to direct them to their rooms.

Charisma and Raphael both looked at each other. "D-Don't worry…..you both have separate beds." She laughed a little.

Charisma led Raphael into the room where he and Cleo would be sleeping. There wasn't really anything much to look at. It was just a simple sea green room with two plain beds and a bedside table with a lamp on top of it. Fondue sniffed around the room.

"I'll leave you and Cleo to it." Charisma softly closed the door.

Cleo moved her legs around while she sat on the side of the bed. "So what are we going to do tomorrow?"

"We should probably look for the next pendant. I'm guessing that it's going to be either Greed or Lust…..or maybe even Wrath." He pondered. "And also, we have to be careful. The sirens could be anywhere, so could the constables."

Fondue barked and growled. "Yeah I know. Don't worry boy, we'll try not to run into them." He patted the little pup on his head.

"Considering Austria's massive fortune, I'm guessing that the pendant of Greed will be here." Cleo laid down on her bed.

"I suppose so, but where would we look?" He gave a thoughtful 'hm'. "We'll think about that tomorrow though." He brushed the curl from his forehead, but there was no point since it just stuck out again naturally.

Cleo turned over and tried to go to sleep but, for some reason, she couldn't. Closing her eyes and turning in her bed for a softer spot was no use either. Raphael seemed to be fast asleep and Fondue was curled up on the floor, so calling out to him and waking him up would be a bit rude. A thunderstorm was rumbling outside, the rain pattered against the window. Cleo wasn't afraid of storms, it was the lightning and roaring thunder that scared her.

Suddenly, lightning flashed and thunder boomed loudly. Cleo squealed and sat up. Almost immediately, a shadow glided over to her and Raphael's face came up to hers. "Are you okay Cleo?"

"R-Raphael?! I thought you were asleep!" Though she was startled by his sudden presence she let him take her hands.

"Who, me? Nah, I was awake the entire time. I couldn't sleep either." He rubbed the surface of her hands with his thumbs. "Hey, do you want me to cuddle you until you go to sleep?"

"W-What?" She moved away a little bit. "You do realise that you'll be sleeping in the same bed as me?"

"I don't mind." He smiled. "And anyway, I've slept in the same bed as you a couple of times. I'm used to it."

Her hands softened a little bit. "Are...you really sure?"

"Of course I am!" His smile extended into a gleaming grin. "Don't worry about the others, I'll just explain to them that you were scared of the thunder."

She paused for a moment, and then lifted up the quilt. "Okay."

Raphael got into the bed and started hugging her. His hand was cradling her head while keeping her shielded from the window. Another boom of thunder clapped in the distance. Cleo made a little 'eek' noise but Raphael drew her closer which caused her to stop. He felt warm and his big strong arms made Cleo feel a whole lot safer. She could practically feel his muscles beneath his sleeves.

"Don't you think about that thunderstorm out there, you're safe with me." His hug tightened. Cleo could faintly smell rose perfume. That seemed to be what she always smelled when she was around him. Did Raphael use perfume on a daily basis?

"D-Do you use perfume?" Cleo looked up at him.

Raphael gave a confused look. "...no. Why? Do I smell like perfume?"

"Yes."

He sniffed his sleeve. "Huh….I do. That's a bit strange. I never apply perfume."

Cleo didn't think of it. She accidently brushed her fingers against his stomach, a little giggle sounded. She did it again, still the same giggle. "Are you ticklish?" She asked.

Raphael fished around his eyes with a huge smile. "...maybe?"

Cleo smirked and started patting her fingers along his stomach.

He laughed a little bit. "No, no, no. Don't…" He clutched his stomach but it was no use, her fingers still managed to reach his stomach. "No Cleo! You might wake everyone up!" She wiggled her fingers everywhere on his stomach and soon enough, it was a tickle fight. He couldn't stop laughing and started to fall off her bed. "Hahahaha! NO! NO! STOP, PLEASE!" He snorted and laughed loudly. Fondue barked happily at him. "F-FONDUE! FONDUE HELP ME! HAHAHAHA!" He fidgeted around the bed violently and started kicking his bare feet around like a little child. Cleo thought it was cute to see him having fun like this. Raphael was crying now, you couldn't tell whether he was sad or happy. He rolled all over the floor bellowing with laughter. He kept telling Cleo to stop and trying to take breaths.

Once Cleo had stopped he wiped the tears away from his eyes. "Oh wow...haha...That was just…...that was so fun."

"You looked you were crying." Cleo helped him up.

He gave off some raw laughter. "Yeah….but it was with happiness." He got back into the bed with her. The storm had seemed to wear off while Cleo was tickling Raphael. Now there was just a pitch black sky with a few grey clouds floating overhead. He embraced her once again and fell asleep in her bed.

An orange sky shined through the window when Raphael woke up. He looked up at it with tired eyes. He sat up and started to get out, when he noticed Cleo beside him. He didn't know what to make of it, but he suddenly remembered last night. The thunderstorm, Cleo being scared, the tickle fight, last night's events were all coming back to him. Raphael smiled at the events and got out of the bed.

A hand grabbed his wrist and he stopped. "Raphael? Where are you going?" A familiar sleepy voice asked him.

He came up to her face. "No where." He smiled. "I was just about to prepare breakfast for you."

"Do you always have to be so sweet?" She sat up. "Ah. My legs are dead…"

Raphael gently dragged her out of the bed and carried her in his arms. "Don't worry, I've got you." He took her downstairs.

He sat her down on the couch in front of the TV. "So what do you want for breakfast this morning?"

"Maybe just some cereal?" Cleo replied.

"Nothing adventurous today huh?" He stroked her and laughed quietly. "Okay I'll see what I can do." He disappeared into the kitchen.

Cleo turned on the television. All of the programs were in German, Austria's official language. One was of the news, Cleo left it on and watched for anything interesting.

Raphael came back in with a bowl of cereal in his hand and a fried egg on a plate in the other hand. He sat down next to Cleo and gave her the bowl. "I thought I might give you some chocolate cereal. You like chocolate right?"

"Oh yes I do!" She dug into the cereal. Raphael laughed at how she was enjoying it.

He cut off a piece of his egg and ate it. A couple on the TV had just gotten married and their wedding was being showcased to everyone. They kissed with such passion. Raphael looked at the TV and then at Cleo. "H-Hey? Cleo?"

"Yes?" She turned to him.

"Umm…..I don't know whether this is true or not but apparently when I was kidnapped by my mom the only you could wake me up was….kissing me…." He rubbed his hands uncomfortably.

"Yeah, your mum said that if you loved me then you'd wake up." She nodded.

"Right….so…..this might sound awkward...but…" He drew her in closer. "Would you kiss me again if you had the chance?"

"Yes." She said immediately .

"...I see…." He took off his glasses. "Then….will you kiss me?"

"Okay." Raphael was surprised at how fast she was answering these questions he was asking her. Any other girl would pause for a moment.

They stared at each other for a moment. Cleo pouted and closed her eyes. Raphael stayed still for a minute, then he leaned in and kissed her. Both their lips were touching for only a brief second, Raphael suddenly pulled away.

Cleo opened her eyes and saw him looking at the TV. "No…...No!"

There on the television was a news team surrounding Inspector Vergier with their cameras and microphones. Charlie was with him, but her eye was bandaged. She tried to look tough as the reporters asked what happened to her.

"W-What?! How is Charlie back with Vergier?" He exclaimed.

"S-She got captured…" Cleo chewed on her cereal.

Raphael let out a loud growl. "And what happened to her eye?! Did Vergier…..hit her?!"

Cleo calmed him down. "Let's just see what Vergier has to say shall we?" They both turned their eyes towards the TV.

The reporter held the microphone up to Vergier. 'We have seen that you are more determined to capture Phantom R than before, could you tell us why that is?'

He shook his head. 'One thing I can tell you, I never should have let him go free when I saw him in those Hanging Gardens. I should have arrested him and put him in chains where he belongs.'

Raphael clenched his fists lightly.

'There has been a young girl walking around and helping him out. What do you make of this Inspector?'

'That young girl is so strong. She is his weapon for stealing and destruction. He's just using her to get where he needs to be, and then he'll just dump her at the side of the road.'

Cleo shook a little bit. "R-Raphael."

"He's lying about me! Vergier is lying about me!" Raphael was becoming enraged.

'One last question Inspector. If Phantom R was watching this now, what would you say to him?'

Vergier turned towards the camera, glaring into its lens and at Raphael. 'Phantom R. I know that you're somewhere watching me. And I'm here to tell you, I'm coming for you. I will rip apart your true intentions, secret by secret. And that little girl will be gone back to her parents in the blink of an eye. You do not care about Paris and it citizens. It's money that you want! You're just a greedy art thief who bathes in his own greed! That's what you really are Phantom R, and I'm going to put an end to your reign in the thieving world once and for all.' With this said a roar of applause came from the crowd and Vergier looked at the camera with pride.

Raphael's hair covered his eyes giving him a dark and pained look, but he had no emotion is his face. "...Turn it off…." He said.

"B-But Raphael, there's other programs on-" She began.

"TURN IT OFF!" He yelled.

Cleo shakily pressed the off button and TV went completely blank. And thank goodness, Raphael would have thrown it out the window otherwise.

He stayed silent, his dark gaze still fixed onto the TV. Cleo put her arms around him. He jumped and looked down at her. "Please don't get angry with him Raphael, it's what he wants."

"Oh it's what he wants alright, and I'm giving him what he wants!" He punched the wall angrily. "Look I know I shouldn't get angry at him. But 'You're just a greedy art thief who bathes in his own greed'? I'm sorry but that's going too far!"

"Calm down Raphael. Vergier may be lying about you but he can't trick me. I know that you would never leave me on the side of the road to die." She put her hand on her chest.

A sudden sound of feet running upstairs was heard. The whole gang came downstairs to see what was going on.

Remy tripped over the stairs and tumbled over at Raphael's feet. "O-Oh dear, I am so sorry….whoever is there." He stood back up and whacked Raphael's leg with his walking stick. "Ah, Cleo. What are you doing down here?"

"Actually master, it's Raphael…." Charisma stepped out.

"Is it?" Remy took a good look at Raphael. "He looks like a girl!"

"...Thanks." Raphael said in a slightly annoyed tone. He HATED being mistaken for a girl. He had short hair in primary school so it was no problem then. But when it came to secondary school his hair was about the length of a short haired girl. And he got mistaken for being one a lot by the population of Paris. But it was mostly tourists that thought he was a girl, which he politely told them that he wasn't and then was on his way.

On one of his heists, some time after his first ever one, the constables had surrounded him. He held his hips in a sassy way which made most of them raise an eyebrow.

"U-Um, excuse me Phantom R?" One of them said.

He glanced in his direction.

"Are you a girl?"

An explosion of disbelief and 'why did you say that?!' came from the constables.

Phantom R held his anger back. "Do I sound like a girl to you?" He said bluntly in his deep, manly voice.

"N-No! It's just…..your hair.." The constable shakily pointed.

Phantom R swiftly managed to ditch them and get back to his apartment, but he never looked at the Paris Constabulary the same way again. He never forgave them for mistaking his gender and being ratty at him for something that he really had to do.

Charisma apologised for Remy saying that. "How about we fix you up some breakfast master?"

"Ah yes, that would be nice. Thank you Charisma." He let her drag him off to the kitchen.

Once everyone had fixed up some breakfast for themselves they sat down on the sofa and ate it. Fondue came up to Raphael with a letter in his mouth.

"Huh? Whatcha got there boy?" He gently took it out. It was addressed it to him. Oh great, was it another one of those notes? He opened it anyway and began to read it. Cleo came over and read it too.

'_Dear Raphael,_

_Hi! I hope this letter got to you quickly. Okay, getting to the facts. I know where the pendant of Greed is. The map leading to it is enclosed in the envelope, along with a description of the pendant. Yeah it has some pretty awesome powers in it's jewel, I'm sure you'll be very happy with it. _

_Well, I've got to continue studying now. Good luck with the rest of the pendants! _

_From your dearest friend, _

_Emile. _

_P.S. That weird brown coated guy, Charlie I think her name was? She told me that you were searching for these pendants. So I decided to help out. _

He put the letter down. That writing…..it was quite fancy. Did Emile finally improve on his writing?

"Good old Emile!" Cleo dug into the envelope and took the map from it.

"Woah hey, slow down!" Raphael tried to stop her.

"Look guys! Emile sent us a map of where the pendant of Greed is!" She waved it around in the air.

"Really? Let me see that." Hans took it off her and looked at it.

"Does this mean that we'll be leaving Austria soon master?" Charisma turned to Remy for answers.

"Hm? What makes you say that?" Remy asked.

"According to my calculations there is only one pendant in this country master." Charisma's eyes had a little map inside of them.

"Ah I see. Then yes, Charisma my dear, we will be leaving Austria soon." Remy nodded at the window.

Cleo jumped up and down. "We're finally getting somewhere! Coming to Austria wasn't a mistake after all!"

"Easy tiger, we have to find the place first." Raphael said.

The place that the pendant was apparently at was an underground basement. Yes. An underground basement. Not an office basement or a restaurant basement. Just an underground basement out in the open that serves no purpose, it was just THERE.

Raphael changed into Phantom R. He thought that the sirens or the constables would attack them at some point during their walk to the place and he wanted to be prepared. He held Cleo's hand tightly while they walked to the place. It wasn't only his hair that was smooth, it was his hands as well. They felt like a baby's skin. So smooth that you forgot you were holding a man's hand. Fondue was drooling as they went past many Austrian restaurants but Phantom R managed to restrain him from running in there and stealing a piece of steak.

Two metal doors were in front of them. Hans checked the map and looked at the doors. "Looks like this is the place." Hans said while putting the map away.

Grace panted. "Phew…..what a walk. I'm tired already."

"I agree with you. That walk was long winded." Remy tapped around for Charisma.

"I'm right here master." Charisma held onto him.

Hans walked up to Charisma. He pulled her into an embrace. "I'm sorry that this might be the wrong time but…" He closed his eyes and kissed her.

"Ha-Mm!" His kiss made her quiet. She began to kiss him back while smiling. They looked so cute together. Maybe you could have said that they deserved to be together.

Hans pulled away and blushed lightly. "I've never kissed anyone before. They all assumed I was too nerdy for them."

"I don't mind Hans, I love you." She pulled him in closer.

Hans smiled. "I love you too Charisma." They began kissing again.

Remy looked around wildly. "W-What? What's going on?"

Phantom R wished he could do that too. But it's not everyday that you saw a guy around his age kissing a girl who was four years younger. He would just get a lot of strange looks from people if he did that.

Charisma and Hans finally parted their lips. They giggled and then turned towards the group. "We're ready now master." Charisma bowed.

"Right. Let's go in here and get what we need." Phantom R said.

The underground basement had a metal corridor leading down into a room. The corridor was small and everyone was a bit squashed. Cleo felt trapped and scared but she kept going for the sake of not embarrassing herself in front of everyone. The room at the end was small as well, but it had a golden pendant with a dollar sign in the middle of it. They finally had it, The Pendant of Greed.

They carefully filtered into the room and stared at the pendant. It shined in the plain light above them. Hans carefully took the pendant and grasped it in his hands. "This looks like a pretty good pendant to me. Defiantly represents greed."

Suddenly the room started to rumble and shake around. Were they having an earthquake? Parts of the room started to fall apart.

"I thought I recognised that symbol! Everyone! RUN!" Grace yelled.

Everyone dashed outside the room with the pendant still in Hans's hand. The door closed behind them, finally they were safe. Phantom R checked if Cleo was okay and Remy felt around for Charisma…..only…..he didn't find her.

"NO!" A scream echoed through the corridor.

They all turned towards the scream. Hans was banging on the door and trying to get it open. They didn't know why he was doing it…..but then they saw who was on the other side…..it was Charisma.

She had been locked inside the room! She was punching it and yelling. Everyone came to try and unlock the door, but it was sealed shut. Charisma was frightened, she was terrified. Normally robots didn't have feelings, but Charisma was so advanced that she was allowed to have them.

The room behind her was collapsing to pieces and there was nothing they could do to save her, she was doomed. Then, out of no where, a metal beam came down from the ceiling and impaled her head. The source of all her power and energy had been struck, her achilles heel was exposed, she was a goner. Charisma stared straight at the group outside of the door, her bright green eyes wide. Wires were crackling where she had been struck. The power within them suddenly ceased. Her face went emotionless as her eyes faded to a dead grey, her eyes seemed to look sad. A glistening tear crawled down her face as she collapsed on the ground.

"CHARISMA! CHARISMA!" Hans screamed and kicked the door, but it was no use, Charisma was dead and she was dead for good.

Phantom R grabbed Hans and dragged him out of the corridor. He couldn't stay here, not when the place was falling apart. Hans yelled and shouted for him to let him go but Phantom R would do no such thing.

They managed to get out of the basement alive. It collapsed in on itself and the entrance to it was no more than a pile of rubble. Phantom R couldn't believe that they had just come out of that.

Grace held her head. "I knew it…" She grumbled. "That was a trap."

"W-What?" Phantom R turned towards her.

"I saw the siren's coat of arms in that room. A pair of wings with a stormy sea in the middle. They set that up for us to kill Charisma!" Grace said.

Hans's hands shook with anger. "Charisma…" He sobbed.

"T-They….they knew she was useful to us. That's why they destroyed her." Remy spoke solemnly.

But….Emile. Was Emile one of them?! He couldn't be.

Hans suddenly pushed Phantom R violently to the ground. He got out one of his robot hands and opened up one of the fingertips of it, he pointed it at his head.

"Hans! No don't!" Cleo yelled.

"What's the point in living if the one woman who accepted and loved me is not here?!" Hans cried. "Charisma loved me, she treated me like everyone else! And now…..she's dead!" He sobbed loudly.

Phantom R got up and tried to bring down his arm. "Hans, stop! You don't know what you're doing!"

"Yes I do! I'm going to see Charisma and there's nothing you can do to stop me!" His hand shook.

"But Hans, robots don't go to heaven! If you kill yourself then you'll never see her again even in the afterlife!" Hans was pretty strong, Phantom R had a bit of trouble bringing his arm down.

"It's better than living on this planet! I'm called a mad scientist or 'Doctor Frankenstein' back where I come from! Charisma managed to look past that and accept me for who I am!" His glasses were being filled up by the amount of tears he was producing.

"Hans, you've got to look past the names and look at the good stuff in life instead! You can't keep dwelling on what people think of you!" Hans's arm softened and Phantom R brought it down. "Charisma may be gone but you can still live your life in memory of her. She wouldn't want you to kill yourself would she?"

He expected Hans to nod and start smiling but instead he looked at Phantom R, then pulled away from him and walked off. "Hans come back!" Cleo shouted. But he paid no attention and kept walking until he was completely out of sight.

A third friend lost, and another one stormed away. What was happening to everyone?

"Raphael? What are we going to do?" Cleo turned to him.

"...I don't know Cleo….I don't know…."

**End of Chapter 16**

**I'm really happy with the current reception that this fanfic is receiving :D Thank you so much for telling me your honest thoughts. And also, I was playing the music from The Railway Man Trailer while I was writing Charisma's death and…...I nearly cried basically :'( There's still more to come in this story so stay tuned! ;)**


	17. Chapter 17: Who is the boss?

"Now, can anyone tell me what happened in Napoleon's invasion of Russia?" Anne asked everyone.

Raphael yawned slightly and tapped his pencil on his head. He knew whose hand was going to go up in the air. It was always him.

A small hand went up and Emile opened his mouth to talk. "Keep it short Emile." Anne said bluntly.

He nodded. "Napoleon invaded Russia even though he was highly advised not to…."

Raphael turned off his ears. He knew that Emile's lecture would be long, he couldn't keep it short even if he tried.

Michel however had better things to do than stay awake in class. A huge bubble came out of his nose as he snored. Raphael wasn't even curious about what he was dreaming, he really didn't want to know. Michel was so spoilt that he thought he could take a nap through class if he wanted to.

Anne looked like she was close to falling asleep. Emile's lecture was boring everyone. She looked in Michel's direction. She told Emile to stop and walked over to Michel with glaring eyes.

She shook him. "Michel Harrison."

He woke up and quickly sat up in his chair. "M-Miss! Uhh….ha ha…I can explain.."

"You're drooling Mr Harrison." Anne kept glaring at him.

Michel quickly wiped his mouth. He laughed nervously. "Wow….I'm in real hot water here aren't I?"

"Would you be so kind as to tell us what happened to Napoleon's soldiers as they were journeying back to France?" She tapped her foot annoyedly.

Michel fished around in his brain for the answer, but what would a slacker like him know? He came to 'his conclusion'. "They….got back safely and made love with the ladies?"

Laughter erupted from the rest of the class, even Raphael sniggered a little bit. Anne facepalmed and growled into her hand. She quietened everyone down and turned back to Michel. "If it weren't the last day of college today then I would have given you a detention Mr Harrison." She went back up to the blackboard and picked up a stick of chalk. "Anyway, your vacation assignment shall be to find a point of interest in Paris and write a two paper report on your research and findings. It could be anything like The Eiffel Tower, The Palace of Versailles.."

"The Moulin Rouge." Michel casually said.

Everyone except Raphael made a loud 'pfft' sound, but they didn't dare laugh while the teacher was facing them.

She shot another glare at Michel and then picked up a stack of papers, she handed them out to everyone. "I expect good writing from everyone and I expect it to be handed in on the first day back in this college, do you understand?"

"Yes Miss." Everyone said.

The bell rang and dismissed everyone. Raphael took his paper and folded it as he went down the corridor. Michel and Emile came to join him.

"Michel...you shouldn't have fallen asleep in class like that…" Emile clutched his books tightly against his chest.

"Ha! I can do what I want! Even if I do fail in college I have a large fortune that will soon be mine….once my father passes on that is.." He gave a smug look.

Raphael put the folded paper into his pocket. "But it's really rude to fall asleep when Miss or Emile is giving a lecture to everyone."

Michel shrugged and looked at his assignment. "Hmm. I don't know about you two but I might choose The Seine as my point of interest."

"Really Michel? The river?" Raphael's eyebrows went up in disappointment.

"Well…...something big happened in The Seine….right?" Michel looked at Emile for answers.

Emile ignored him. "Hey Raphael, do you want to come over to my place and help me research my point of interest?"

"No thanks. I've got to be somewhere tonight anyway." He politely refused.

Emile looked a little disappointed. "Well, alright then. I'll see you later then Raphael!" He waved goodbye and then ran off the campus.

Raphael collected Fondue and walked through Paris with Michel. "So where's this place you've to be, eh?" Michel asked him.

Raphael looked at his wrist. "I'm thinking of getting a bracelet, do you think it will suit me?"

"I've never seen you with any jewelry on, so I don't know." Michel went up ahead of him. "I've got to get home now and study. I'll see you around Raphael." He ran off back to his house.

Raphael waved to him and then went to a small shop to pick up the latest newspaper. The front cover was about Phantom R's plan to steal The Bracelet of Tiamat. "Oh I'll be getting a bracelet alright. I'll be getting a bracelet that will make this my biggest heist."

Fondue barked and panted. "I know Fondue, but let's get home first." He walked back to his apartment and softly closed the door.

Oh if only he knew what he would set off by stealing that bracelet….

Back in the present, this very bracelet started glowing. Phantom R looked at it in shock. "H-Huh?!"

"Raphael?" Cleo saw the bracelet. "What? What's happening to it?"

A see-through ghost like version of Leviathan came out and wrapped it's tail around Phantom R. "Leviathan? Why are you out?" He answered Phantom R's question by pointing the end of his scaly tail at something, Cleo's pendant.

"My necklace?" Cleo held it in her palm.

It started to glow and a pound symbol appeared in it's jewel. "What?!" Phantom R took a closer look at it.

"The necklace worn by the daughter of Mammon." Phantom R never expected Leviathan to have such a deep and philosophical voice. "Her pendant is a piece of The Pendant of Greed."

"The daughter of Mammon?" Phantom R turned to Cleo. "Wait, your family are millionaires right?"

"Yes. They own loads of banks around the world." She said.

Of course. The daughter of Mammon meant the daughter of The Valice's, and that was Cleo.

"Here, in his country of gold, is a bank owned by them. Find the main office and claim the second piece of the pendant as yours." With this said, Leviathan vanished into thin air and went back into Phantom R's bracelet. He felt a surge of energy course through his veins, the same one he felt when he was back in Greece.

Remy came over. "What's this I heard about a bank?"

"It appears that The Pendant of Greed is in two halves. Cleo is wearing the first half and the second half is apparently in her parent's bank here in Austria." He paused. "That's pretty clever."

Grace got out her bat. "Will I have to whack some heads in?"

"Probably not, depending on the number of security guards patrolling the office." Phantom R wiped his face with his sleeve.

Cleo seemed to leap with excitement. "Great! My first ever heist!"

"Haha…...you won't be coming in with us Cleo." Phantom R told her.

"What?! Why not?!" She whined.

"I can't risk you getting caught by the constables. And besides, I don't think you'd like the exit I have in mind." He thought about it for a moment.

Cleo grabbed onto his jacket which made him come back to reality. "Please Raphael! Let me come with you! I promise I won't be any trouble! I can distract the front desk for you, just please let me be in this heist!"

Phantom R smiled and patted her head. "You're such a sweet thing aren't you? I'm sorry but I can't allow you to get caught and sent back to your parents. Remy will guard you while me and Grace infiltrate the bank."

"But Remy's blind.." Cleo glanced over at Remy.

He immediately came over to Cleo and put his hand on her shoulder. "I may be blind but, using my senses, I will protect her."

"And, what about Hans?" She looked over in the distance for any sign of him.

"We'll sort him out later. But right now, we need to get to that bank." He kneeled down and stroked Fondue. "You're ready for this heist aren't you boy?"

He barked back a reply which made Phantom R smile all the more.

"How can you understand what he's saying?"

Phantom R suddenly froze at Cleo's question. He slowly stood back up. "What?"

"How are you able to understand what Fondue is saying to you?" She repeated to him.

He tapped his foot. "I….I don't know. I was just born with it I guess."

Grace impatiently started walking off towards the bank. "Hey Grace! Wait up!" Phantom R and Fondue ran after her.

Remy tapped around for Cleo. "I am sorry Cleo, but could you guide me? Charisma isn't here to do so."

"Sure." She grabbed his arm and led him off down the streets of Vienna.

The bank admittedly looked a lot like The Paris Opera. Only it had a Euro on the top of it and the name 'Valice and Co'. The roof of it was decorated with golden angels giving it a whole royal look.

"I didn't know that Dad was so artistic with his banks." Cleo said as she blocked out the sun with her hand to see the angels.

"Strange. I always referred to my father as Papa. But you seem to call yours Dad." Phantom R bit his lip nervously.

Remy rubbed his fingers on his walking stick. "For good luck." He blew on the tip of it.

Cleo suddenly hugged Phantom R tightly. "Just promise you won't get caught Raphael.."

He kissed her cheek lightly which made her blush. "I promise." He took one last look at Cleo and then stepped into the bank with Grace and Fondue by his side.

Packed. The inside of the bank was packed with customers. Were Cleo's family world famous or something? It seemed that way. People were queuing up to talk to their bank managers behind the glass, while others were using machines to ask questions about the bank. Phantom R saw this as an opportunity.

"Grace, you've got a bank account right?" Phantom R asked her.

She nodded.

"Okay." He brought her closer. "You distract those accountants and I'll ask the machines about the main office." He whispered into her ear.

Grace had the plan in her head and she went up to the window where a black haired woman with glasses was waiting. The woman studied Grace up and down. She narrowed her eyes at her.

"Is 'that' what's considered cool in this year and age?" She spoke rudely while pointing at Grace's tattoos. She tutted. "There really is no hope in this generation."

"...H-Hello. I'm here to check my bank balance-"

"And I'm here to ask you some questions." The woman leaned over closer to Grace.

Phantom R didn't notice this and went up to one of the machines. He put in his real name and the machine beeped as it went to find an available employee to talk to him.

The name 'Caroline' came up and a keyboard appeared with it's letters lit up. Phantom R wasn't good at typing, he only ever used computers when he was in college. Slowly, he began to type.

{Raphael is Online}

{Caroline is Online}

Raphael: Hello?

Caroline: Hi! Welcome to Valice and Co. Can I help you?

Raphael: Could you tell me where the

{Caroline is Offline}

Too late. He took too long to type. These employees were very impatient. He searched for another one. A different name came up. He clicked on it and began typing again.

{Raphael is Online}

{Dennis is Online}

Raphael: Hello?

Dennis: Sorry pal, don't want to talk to you.

{Dennis is Offline}

How rude! Did Cleo's parents just employ the only people they could find?! Phantom R didn't really have much time left. He had to find the main office, and quickly. For the last time, he searched for an employee.

{Raphael is Online}

{RiceCakes is Online}

RiceCakes: O_O

Raphael: Hello?

RiceCakes: Hi…

Raphael: Are you okay?

RiceCakes: Yes yes! I'm perfectly fine!

This person was certainly weird. And what was with their name?

RiceCakes: Anyway, what can I help you with?

Raphael: Do you know where the main office is?

RiceCakes: It's through the door on your left. Go down the corridor and look for a door with the main office sign on it.

Raphael: Thanks!

RiceCakes: No problem. Good luck with your heist.

Raphael: Huh?

RiceCakes: Nothing.

{RiceCakes is Offline}

Phantom R logged off and turned to Grace who was having an interesting conversation with the lady behind the window.

"You can't just insult me like that! Who do you think you are?" Grace raised her voice slightly.

She lowered her glasses down. "I, happen to be Cleo's mother."

Phantom R gulped. This couldn't be good. Was she watching them from a distance all this time?

Grace backed up a little bit as the dark haired woman came out of the office. "H-Huh?"

She strode up to her. "I know that you're in a group with her and the famous art thief, Phantom R. And I know that she's outside this very building."

How did she know that?! Did she put a tracking device on Cleo or something?

"How did you know?" Grace hit the wall with her back.

"Back in Italy she stole a golden pocket watch from a couple." Phantom R remembered that, it was while they were singing and dancing towards The Sistine Chapel. "That couple, was me and my husband. That pocket watch is actually an advanced tracker. She's been all over Europe with that art thief it seems."

Phantom R knew he had to do something, Cleo's mother would do goodness knows what to Grace otherwise.

But Grace, had an ace up her sleeve. She shakily dug into her pocket and took out a white ball. "I'm not letting you get your hands on her."

She barked a cold laugh. "And what are you going to do about it? I'm getting my daughter back one way or another."

Grace looked at Phantom R. She mouthed: 'Follow me' to him, and then she threw the white ball down on the ground.

It exploded and crackled and popped while white smoke was pouring out of it. Everyone was screaming. Grace grabbed Phantom R and took him through a door while Cleo's mother was wafting it away and trying to find them.

"Get them! Get them now! They can't get their hands on my necklace!" She shouted angrily.

After Grace had barricaded the door with a chair, a water cooler and a plushie she ran towards Phantom R, who was searching around frantically.

"Okay, R. We need to be quick, that barricade won't last forever." This was the first time Grace had ever referred to him by the last letter in his name.

"I know. That employee said that I needed to look for a door with the 'Main Office' sign on it." He looked around at all the doors. Going from top to bottom there were several offices, none of which were the main one.

Finally he reached it. "..'Main Office'...this must be the one!" He saw a code that was sealing the door. "Hmm. I don't like the look of this code. It seems too complicated to me. Maybe we should go back and find the combination."

Grace, however, decided that she was in a destructive mood. She smashed the door to pieces with her bat and charged into the office.

"...or we could just do that…" He sighed and followed her inside.

What a plain old office it was. It wasn't as messy as Vergier's office. It was very organized with a plain wallpaper spread around the room. A necklace with it's pendant the shape of a circle sat in the middle, it was inside a glass case. Upon closer inspection it was green with a dollar symbol on it, except there was a small hole in the middle.

"You think this is it?" Phantom R touched the glass.

Below there was a plate describing the necklace. 'Blue + ? = Grün'

She read it again. "What do they mean by 'Blue + ? = Grün'?"

"It looks like a word in a different language, but which one?" He pondered to himself.

"Oh I know which language it is, it's German. But what does it mean by 'Blue + ? = Green'?" She said.

Grace could decipher and read German? Phantom R was a little bit peeved with her for not translating it at the start. "Well blue and yellow makes green…...so…." He realized he had just deciphered it. "That's what it means Grace, it's asking you what makes green! Though…..why?"

They didn't have time to think as the barricade was knocked down and the door burst open with constables piling into the corridor.

"R! They're coming right towards us!" Grace screamed.

Phantom R smashed the glass case. Some of the glass cut his hand and made him yelp a little. He grabbed the pendant and Grace and then jumped out the window.

Glass covered the pavement outside. Phantom R landed, but he was shaking. His vision, blurry. His head, throbbing. His hand, thankfully still holding the pendant. Grace helped him to his feet. He looked around for Cleo and Remy.

"W-Where…..are they..?" He clutched his head and wobbled around a little bit.

Grace went round the corner to the front of the bank, leaving Phantom R and Fondue by themselves.

Phantom R couldn't retain his balance, he slowly got down on his knees. Fondue barked at him to get up but he paid no attention to it. A dark shadow towered over and a familiar voice spoke to him.

"That's it, just let yourself go. Don't worry, I'll keep you safe." The last thing Phantom R saw was green scales wrapping around his body.

He clenched his hands, something soft and clay-like was below him. A distant voice kept calling his name, and the voice was getting louder and louder.

"...aphael…"

"...Raphael…"

"RAPHAEL!" The voice seemed to scream at him suddenly.

He opened his eyes. Cleo was looking down at him with tears in her eyes. Where was he? It looked like a field of some sorts. The moon shone brightly above them as a waning crescent. He tried to hug Cleo but a loud gunshot cut his actions short.

"Quickly!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the forest.

"W-Where are we?!" Phantom R yelled over the gunshots.

"I'll explain." Cleo huffed. "You passed out back in Vienna. We tried to get you back to Grace's house but then my mother came out and tried to kidnap me. Grace got us into her car and we were driving towards Liechtenstein from there. My mum caught up to us and made the car crash into a tree. I thought you were dead but I'm glad I was wrong." BANG! Cleo squealed and kept running.

Remy, Grace and Fondue were running with them as well. And…...Hans?! Hans was running with them from the gunshots!

"Hans! But how-" Phantom R panted.

"What? You seriously think I'd abandon you? Look Raphael, Charisma may be dead but I know that she would tell me to keep going." Hans said proudly.

Phantom R smiled at Hans and picked up the speed. They wove through the tall trees and jumped over some rivers. The moon was their only guiding light in this forest, taunting them by how high and thin it was. Remy had a little bit of trouble with when they had to jump but Grace guided him through and didn't let him hit any trees.

The gunshots became quieter and quieter as they descended deeper into the forest. They didn't stop running until they got to a shining lake, it was so silent that you could hear the sound of breathing from a mile away.

Grace sat down beneath a tall tree. "We should be safe here…"

"That woman wants Cleo really badly doesn't she?" Hans sighed. "But at least she's not chasing us anymore."

Phantom R was confused and scared. What was going on? Cleo may have explained to him but he was still puzzled by it.

Cleo took Phantom R away from the group. "You might want to start up a campfire." She said to them before going off with Phantom R under her arm.

Once they had gotten a fair way from the others Cleo hugged Phantom R tightly. She had missed him of course, and seriously thought that his life was lost when they crashed into that tree.

She let him go. He was still giving her the same empty expression. Cleo looked at her hands and got an idea. "Say Raphael, have you ever had a massage?"

"Hm?" He made a small noise as he turned to face the lake.

Cleo took his chin and faced him towards her. "I could give you one if you want."

"Are you any good at it?" A small breeze blew across the lake as he said this.

"Yeah, I'm really good at it. It'll help you relax." Her smile was so bright that Phantom R felt he couldn't say no to her.

Without a word, he turned around and his back tensed up a little bit. Cleo put her hands on his shoulders (it was no problem for her since she was up to his neck in height) and started to massage them. Phantom R stayed silent for a minute or so but after a while he made little noises as she kept going. He turned his head for a brief second to reveal that his cheeks were bright red.

"Are you alright Raphael?" She stopped.

"Y-Yeah….I'm fine.." He said rather sheepishly.

Cleo thought for a moment. "Maybe you should take your top off so then it'll be easier for me."

"Huh?!" He sounded shocked.

She put her hands up. "U-Unless you don't want to that is."

"No no, it's okay. I'll take it off." He said to her gently.

He removed his fedora and his jacket. He hesitated for a moment and took off his tie. Cleo put them in a pile for Phantom R to pick up later. Finally, he took off his top. It took a while for him to unbutton it but once he did he slid it off of his shoulders. And Cleo, was slightly disturbed by what was on his back.

It wasn't anything like a demonic mark or a pair of creepy eyes, it was a symbol. Now I know what you're probably thinking, you think it's the same symbol on his coin yes? If you thought that, then you'd be wrong. No, it wasn't that symbol. The mark on his back was very large, it covered most of it entirely. The symbol was nothing like Cleo had ever seen before. It was a trident with a big cog behind it and waves crashing from the background.

"Cleo? What's wrong?" He looked over at her.

Cleo wiped her head. "Nothing." She laughed nervously. "Anyway…"

He made the same small noises as he did before but they were more quiet this time. Cleo didn't know whether he was enjoying this massage or not but at least he wasn't shaking anymore. Though she was still wondering about the mark on his back. Where did he get it from? Did it mean anything? These questions wouldn't go unanswered for too long.

After she had finished she beckoned Phantom R back to the group. He shook his head and told her that he wanted to stay at the lake. Cleo thought this was strange but didn't question it and went back with the others.

He looked out at the lake. The cold breeze didn't seem to bother him even though his chest was exposed. To him it was rather peaceful. But he didn't feel peaceful inside. Something was burning inside of him and he couldn't quite put his finger on it, a burning feeling that he didn't even know he had.

"What is wrong, Mein Prinz?" Leviathan was beside him and wrapping his scales around his shoulders.

"Nothing." Phantom R said quickly hoping to avoid a conversation.

He felt some scales wrapping gently around his neck. "Your heart is full of desires that are causing your mind to become dark. This does not bode well."

The scales stopped under his voice box. Leviathan did not want to kill him, he simply wanted to stop Phantom R from walking away from him. "I don't know why I'm feeling like this all of a sudden. I want to conceal these feelings for her sake but…..I just can't.."

Leviathan let him go. "You mean the daughter of Mammon yes?"

"Yeah. She….she just enchanted me when we were back in Greece. I looked into her eyes and then all of a sudden…...I realised I loved her." He remembered her eyes, her bright blue eyes.

Leviathan stared at Phantom R with his yellow cat like eyes. He slithered into the lake. "Come." He beckoned him with the end of his tail.

"But….I can't breathe underwater like you." He replied to him.

"That is no problem, you'll see why I'm doing this once we're in." Phantom R didn't have time to answer seeing as Leviathan was forcefully dragging him into the lake. Before he knew it his head and entire body was under the water.

He held his breath and shut his eyes tightly. Whatever Leviathan had in store for him, he was prepared.

"Open your eyes, Mein Prinz." His voice was so commanding that Phantom R couldn't help but obey him.

He fluttered his eyes open. A dark blue abyss was in front of him. He couldn't breathe of course but he was able to hold his breath for quite some time.

Leviathan swam further through the lake, still dragging Phantom R along with him. He suddenly stopped in front of a stone that was emitting white light. It appeared that the mark on his back was glowing as well.

"Do you see this stone in front of you?" Leviathan asked him.

He nodded silently, careful to not gulp down any water.

"This was the same stone Issac used to help make that robot for Jean Francios. And yes, I mean the one he tried to kill you with in The Hanging Gardens."

Phantom R nearly swallowed some water in shock. His father actually helped Jean Francios make that?!

"Calm down, you'll drown otherwise." Leviathan comforted him.

Some bubbles floated up to the surface and burst. Leviathan continued. "Part of this stone was used as the energy source for that robot." He turned the stone around and revealed that a large chunk had been taken out of it. "It is a very powerful stone, if you take some and open a cut on your arm with it you'll gain incredible power."

Phantom R started to swim towards to rock until Leviathan stopped him. "You can't cut yourself under here. You can take a piece of it however."

He clawed onto the rock and ripped a chunk of it off. The black jewels on it reflected the moon from above. In a way, it reminded him of Marie. Her beauty which was not one that could be recreated easily, her smile which was heavenly to look at, her pale complexion like fresh snow, her sickly voice so raw-

He stopped there, he didn't want to tear up again.

Leviathan took him back up to the surface and let him dry off. He slithered out and disappeared back into his bracelet without another word.

Phantom R chose not to put his shirt back on just yet and walked back to the campfire where the others were waiting.

Hans was playing tunes to everyone on his guitar while Cleo was snuggled up in a blanket. The fire burnt brightly and quickly. Grace was roasting some marshmallows over the fire, she had a packet of them by her side. Phantom R wondered how she got them in the first place.

He went over to Cleo and sat her on his lap. "Hey."

"Oh! Umm….hi Raphael." His warmth was making her shy.

Grace stared at Phantom R and let her marshmallow on a stick fall into the fire.

"Hm? What's wrong?" He followed his eyes to where Grace was looking and narrowed them. "Really Grace?"

She shook her head. "A-Ah, sorry. I've just never seen such a…...body."

"You know, that seems to be the first thing a girl notices about me. They all seem to love me for my body, my voice, my looks, but not a single one loves me for being me!" He huffed and turned away from the fire.

"Well I'd be pleased if I had such godworthy pecs Raphael. Not many guys are lucky enough to gain muscle like that." Hans put away his guitar as he said this.

"Yeah, but I'd rather not have it if that's the only thing that girls are gonna like about me." He didn't realise he still had Cleo on his lap. "Oh sorry Cleo." He laughed with embarrassment and turned back to the fire.

"But I thought Cleo and Marie liked you for just being you." Remy said.

He was right. Though they both were surprised at how he was the famous art thief himself they both seemed to like him for his personality. Marie was more surprised than thrilled to meet him though. Maybe that's why he liked Cleo more. Cleo didn't fear him like Marie had before they had met, she treated him like a decent buddy. Marie treated him more like a god, relying on him to save her and praising him afterwards. Phantom R didn't mind it but he greatly liked Cleo more than Marie. Oh, if only he knew how much Marie had really changed.

Grace stomped out the fire and went to lie down with Hans. He had made a lot of blankets for everyone, even Fondue, and put them all together so that everyone was in a group snuggle. Raphael of course went next to Cleo. His snuggles were the best, warm and comfortable.

"Cleo? Are you still awake?" He spoke through the silence.

"Yeah." She replied with her eyes still closed.

He laughed quietly. "You're like a little night owl, you just don't know when to sleep." He gently opened her eyes and saw them smiling at him.

"Knock it off and let me sleep." She smacked his hand away and turned over.

Raphael had other ideas however. He was too cocky to go to sleep. "You can't get away from me you know. I'm Phantom R, I'll always be with you even if you try to run away from me." He clung onto her like a koala.

"I thought you didn't like how girls were only interested in your pecs." She mumbled sleepily.

"I don't." He said back to her.

"Then why are you acting like a cocky donkey?" She asked this in a bit of an angry tone.

That was one of Raphael's weak points as a person. Sometimes he was too cocky and ended up getting himself in a tricky situation or two. The same thing happened when he was trying to save Marie. He was feeling too cocky and was running for the exit in a straight line and then, BANG. Jean Francios appeared and shot him. The bullet luckily only scraped against him but it taught him to never be as cocky as he was then. He never seemed to take the lesson into his mind though as he was still that cocky now when he was running from the constables. He was just one of those people that needed to be able to feel the pain of a mistake in order to learn from it.

He frowned painfully. "It's just…..part of my fake personality. I use that personality when I'm Phantom R, but trust me I'm a nice person really." Even he didn't know whether what he was saying was true or not.

To his surprise she turned around and snuggled up to him. "I know you're a nice person, and that's why I like you Raphael. You're much nicer than my parents."

"Thanks, you're pretty nice for a child with rich parents." Strangely, he felt quite….emotional.

"Are you okay?!" She asked worriedly.

He suddenly realised that he was crying. Tears streamed down his face and were absorbed by the fabric of the blanket. "Yeah...Yeah. I'm okay." He hurriedly wiped them away.

She brought her face up to his. "You're a terrible liar." She dried his eyes with her thumb.

But it didn't work seeing as how he was still crying. He wasn't sobbing or anything, tears were just rolling down his face. "Sorry about this Cleo. I guess I just haven't been loved this much ever since my mother died. My father kinda…..abandoned me after she died, he had a mental breakdown and never recovered. And then him just going away with no explanation like that. I cried that night, thinking that I was going to starve and die in that apartment all by myself. I'm lucky I found that coin. If I hadn't then….goodness knows what would have happened, but I know for sure that I wouldn't have met you or Marie if I had never had picked that golden goose up."

She kissed him lightly on the cheek. "I'm glad I found you Raphael." She saw him blush wildly and giggled. "Now let's get some sleep so that we have some strength for Liechtenstein tomorrow."

He nodded and laid down. A clear view of the night sky right in front of him. It was breathtaking. It was also amazing how he was lying next to probably the bestest friend in the world. He didn't mean to put her down but Marie could never top this, even though she was a princess. To him it didn't matter whether Cleo was royalty or not, he loved her the same way.

**End of Chapter 17**


End file.
